At long last the second album from the critically acclaimed Montreal band Arcade Fire arrives. It is unquestionably one of the most eagerly anticipated of 2007.
Their debut album Funeral was a work drenched in Civil War anarchy, religious imagery and smart, antique engineered melodicism (think ‘80s new wave pop played on an accordion and mandolin).
It was also the sound that got Arcade Fire on the cover of Time magazine and, more recently, the masters of hype the NME to hail them as the best band in the world.
And according to those naughty enough to download the leaked version of Neon Bible, we can expect more of the same in the coming months and years.
Enigmatic frontman Win Butler, meanwhile, describes the album as sounding “like standing by the ocean at night.” Which can’t be a bad thing.
They say:
This is Fake DIY: “Pay attention. It’s fantastic.”
Rolling Stone: “There is determined resistance here too, a twisted faith in escape that comes through best when Arcade Fire hit the gas pedal.”
The Observer: “For Arcade Fire, if no one else, the future looks rosy.”
We say:
Arcade Fire couldn’t have picked a more fitting album title. Like its predecessor, Neon Bible is rooted in spiritual catharsis and heartache, with Win Butler singing about being set free against a Phantom of the Opera pipe organ on ‘My Body is a Cage’ and “working for the church while your family dies” on the orchestral ‘Intervention’.
Making full use of a Hungarian orchestra, military choir and aforementioned pipe organ, the band’s sound is undeniably beefier. It also flaunts its influences even more so than Funeral, with elements of Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads and U2 to be found in every chord progression and melodic hook.
The Springsteen influence is particularly noticeable on ‘Antichrist Television Blues’ and ‘Windowsill’, both one warbled plea away from a ride across the badlands of America with Wendy’s hands strapped across their engines – although it’s almost impossible to imagine the Boss would pen such lame lyrics as “MTV, what have you done to me?/Save my soul, set me free.”
The odd clunky lyric aside, then, this is an impressive sophomore release. Ambitious, deadly serious (some may argue too serious) and spiritual, Neon Bible is sure to win over even the most cynical of pop fans. Believe the hype.
Like this? Try these:
Talking Heads – Fear of Music
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
RELEASED
5th March ‘06
LABEL
Universal
POSTED...
Wed 7 Mar 2007 at 3:58pm
