Tuesday, September 28, 2010

the Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Doing a review of the (relatively) new the Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs.  Another band of Indie rockers hailing from the great city of Montreal, Quebec (shout to to my cousin David living in the ol' MTL). After a busy string of tours for the bands second album, Neon Bible, Win Butler announced the band would start work on their new album, set for release in 2010.

I like the approach the band took in making this album, It's also glad to hear them go back to a style more reminiscent on their debut album, Funeral.  I'm going to admit it, I like this album much more than Neon Bible.  The Suburbs is probably the bands greatest and most acclaimed effort to date. Released on August 3, 2010 (depending on country), the album features a total of 16 tracks:

1. "The Suburbs"
2. "Ready To Start"
3. "Modern Man"
4. "Rococo"
5. "Empty Room"
6. "City With No Children"
7. "Half Light I"
8. "Half Light II (No Celebration)"
9. "Suburban War"
10. "Month of May"
11. "Wasted Hours"
12. "Deep Blue"
13. "We Used to Wait"
14. "Sprawl I (Flatland)"
15. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
16. "The Suburbs (Continued)"

The real gems of the album are: "The Suburbs", "Ready To Start", "Month of May", and  "We Used to Wait". The thing about The Suburbs is that while the lyrics follow a central theme about life and experiences growing up and living in the suburbs, the instrumentation varies song to song, which is refreshing.

"The Suburbs", track numero uno, kicks off the album with a bang.  A no nonsense intro right in the meat of the tune, I'd say a somewhat Beatles-esque tune, in terms of melody and progression; I absolutely love the melody of the chorus, Butler and Chassagne croon "Sometimes I get believing, I'm moving past the feeling".

The next track, "Ready To Start", brings the album up a bpm (beat per minute) or two, with a slightly quicker tune.  The interlude around the 3 minute mark builds the song up to a great climax and ending.  "Month of May", may vary well be my favorite tune.  The most up beat song on the album, I'd definitely it sounds different from the rest.  A little bit of overdriven guitar and a simple kick and snare beat sets the foundation for a wicked tune. Loving the "breakdown" and re-entrance around the 2:20-230 mark. The has an eerie ambiance ending, with Butler and Chassagne ending the song with a repeat of the chorus.  Here's a link to the tune "Month Of May".

I am very stoked to go see the concert tonight, (Sept 28.). My GF and I should have a great time checking out the band in Vancouver. I'll post about how it was with some pics in a couple days.

Thanks for reading, if you want me to review a band or album, leave the name of it in a comment.
Cheers folks.

1 comment:

  1. I'm going to have to check this one out... Nice blog by the way.

    ReplyDelete