Arcade Fire back in “The Suburbs”
With apologies to Barenaked Ladies, Rush, and yes, Sarah McLachlan, my favorite Canadian rock band is back. I’m talking about Arcade Fire, those wise-beyond-their-years kids who have garnered incredibly good reviews over their brief existence. After an EP and two magnificent albums, the ensemble of multi-instrumentalists have returned with The Suburbs, a pseudo-concept album in the spirit of their debut.
Did they recast Heroes?
Although highly anticipated, it seems as if The Suburbs was released to little fanfare. This may be due in part to the current state of popular music, and/or because of the music industry in general. It’s too bad, because this is arguably the band’s best album. Much like their universally lauded debut, Funeral, the songs all follow some central themes. Whereas Funeral was about growing up, falling in love, and carrying on for your family, the new album is about suburban life, suburban kids, and suburban ennui. Win and Will Butler have stated that the album is not “a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it’s a letter from the suburbs.” Giving the album a couple of listens will help that idea become clear, but you still can’t help but think that their overall impression of that kind of life is less than stellar.
Now, Neon Bible, as good as it was, was cursed by Sophomore Album Syndrome. After Funeral, nothing was going to be good enough for the second album. I can remember being very impressed with it, but after a while, I just got to thinking to myself, “Hey, guys, why so serious?” Couple that with its expanded sound, and Arcade Fire looked like they were guilty of Trying Too Hard. I think this was the general consensus among critics and even some fans, and the band seemed to know it. So with the third album, we get songs that are more effortless in their execution, both lyrically and musically. Win doesn’t seem to be as urgent as he did three years ago. Maybe it’s because he’s not being reactionary; maybe it’s his use of a central theme that has got him directed again. The lyrics are worth examining, but they seem effortless again. I can remember reading the liners to Funeral and being moved because the words were simple, but still poetic. As for the music, the band is still quite good at launching into big numbers, but they do so with a little restraint… just big enough to say what they want to and not seem obnoxious about it. The overall sound is lovely, too, as the whole album was pressed to acetate before being mastered, giving it the same sound as vinyl. What really gets me, though, is how the two elements come together to give the sense that the whole album is like a dream. The ‘narrative’ jumps from place to place and idea to idea, and the music fits to it. It’s not quite real, it seems. Maybe that’s due in part to the blend of traditional rock with a little electronic influence here and there.
Music is, of course, a very personal thing. Arcade Fire did things on Funeral that no other band had ever done in my eyes. Essentially, they came along with several songs that said things that I didn’t even know I wanted to say. With The Suburbs, they do it again, like on “Ready to Start,” “Modern Man,” and “We Used to Wait.” Songs about being in a funk and trying to pull yourself out. Songs about being complacent but unhappy. Songs about simpler times when you’d actually write a letter to someone and wait a while to hear back. Things I’ve been pondering for a while. This is why Arcade Fire are very special to me. I’m glad they’re back, and I’m glad this album is so damn good. I hope that when they come back stateside, they take a trip through my area.
It also doesn’t hurt that Sarah Neufeld is still with the band and is quite adorable.