In 2005, Montreal based group Arcade Fire received a Grammy nomination—best alternative music album—for “Funeral,” an album which, in my eyes, could not be better. The group went on to receive the same nomination in 2008 for the epic, brooding masterpiece that is “Neon Bible,” but were once again outdone. So 2010 rolls around and what do they do? They release “The Suburbs.” Now it’s looking promising that this is Arcade Fire’s year for that Grammy.
The startling difference between “The Suburbs” and Arcade Fire’s earlier work comes with the production on their new album. It’s as though the group took “Funeral” and put it in the crisper, leaving a sharper, cleaner album that doesn’t jeopardize the band’s sound as a whole. The album also features a talented exploration of Arcade Fire’s ability to bridge genres: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) comes as a shock considering the group has never made a song with such heavy electronica influences, and the buzzing vocals and fast-paced drums on Month of May hint at a punk sound found when listening to Wavves, or Girls’ “Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker.”
Oh by the way, I should probably mention that the album has eight different covers. Maybe you should just collect them all and give them out to your friends. This is the kind of thing you’ll want to share anyway so why not?
From start to finish “The Suburbs” puts the downtrodden, monotonous life that has become a facet of our modern society into the limelight. Win Butler’s forlorn vocals mesh perfectly with the driving beats that back him to evoke a powerful urban setting that has never truly been conveyed through music.
But before we get completely wrapped up in the meanings, metaphors and workings of “The Suburbs,” let’s just stop and allow one guarantee to soak in: This album will knock your fucking socks off.
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