Review - Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
It comes as no surprise that Canadian indie-rockers Arcade Fire have continued their legacy of great music with their new album The Suburbs. After their first two records, Funeral and Neon Bible were both nominated for Grammys and Juno Awards (even winning the coveted Album of the Year), there was a lot of pressure to keep the amazing tunes coming. Fortunately, yet again, the boys and girls of AF do not disappoint.
The album opens and ends with a title track, which at first musically hints at inspirational, and at the end of the album (when the song picks back up and finishes), takes on a more somber tone. Lead singer Win Butler keeps repeating the words “wasted”, and poses deep questions out loud to his audience. It is clear that Butler is not so much reminiscing about the childhood he spent outside the city, but rather pointing out the wrongs of what happened; what will happen to children growing up now in small towns across the world.
Not all songs on Suburbs are such downers though; the group picks up the beat on “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” and creates the album’s stand out track. Danceable, vocal, and somehow heartbreakingly beautiful, the two-parter absolutely glistens through the rest of the record.
Arcade Fire has always done great things with their music, and this new LP continues this tradition. The group looks deep within themselves to see how their past has shaped them into who they are as people now, and shares this with the world; indie has never been so introspective and fascinating. Surely this record will easily find its way onto many a critic’s “Best Of 2010’s” lists. Not that this is anything new for the indie world’s tried and true staple.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The album opens and ends with a title track, which at first musically hints at inspirational, and at the end of the album (when the song picks back up and finishes), takes on a more somber tone. Lead singer Win Butler keeps repeating the words “wasted”, and poses deep questions out loud to his audience. It is clear that Butler is not so much reminiscing about the childhood he spent outside the city, but rather pointing out the wrongs of what happened; what will happen to children growing up now in small towns across the world.
Not all songs on Suburbs are such downers though; the group picks up the beat on “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” and creates the album’s stand out track. Danceable, vocal, and somehow heartbreakingly beautiful, the two-parter absolutely glistens through the rest of the record.
Arcade Fire has always done great things with their music, and this new LP continues this tradition. The group looks deep within themselves to see how their past has shaped them into who they are as people now, and shares this with the world; indie has never been so introspective and fascinating. Surely this record will easily find its way onto many a critic’s “Best Of 2010’s” lists. Not that this is anything new for the indie world’s tried and true staple.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
