Arcade Fire burst onto the scene in 2004 with their debut album, Funeral. Their grandiose indie anthems earned them glowing praise from critics and fans alike. With Win Butler leading on vocals and guitar, Arcade Fire's eclectic instrumentation and apparent influences, including David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, and Neil Young, made them stand out from the countless indie bands getting their start at the same time.
Recording their second album in a church, Neon Bible utilized a pipe organ, full orchestra and military choir to expand their sound even further. Although the mood of Neon Bible was much darker than the soul cleansing shouts of hope that burst through the depression on the surface of Funeral, Arcade Fire proved they were much more than a one off talent. A packed tour schedule consumed the band's time until early 2008 when the members decided to take a break, playing a few free shows later in the year in support of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, but ultimately staying out of the public eye.
Now, two years later, Arcade Fire is finally back with one of the most anticipated albums of 2010. Their third record opens with the title track, "The Suburbs," which finds Arcade Fire in significantly lighter spirits than their previous two records. The same band looking for an escape from the pains of life realized in their earlier years is now beginning to accept the conformity of suburbia with a new goal of providing their children with the best experiences life has to offer, safe from the agony they had to work through.
There is still, however, an internal conflict hidden within the band's acceptance of The Suburbs. On "Ready To Start," an energetic verse proclaiming "I would rather be wrong than live in the shadows of your song" shows the classic break-away mindset of Arcade Fire shining through while the following track, "Modern Man," brings the pace back down to the mid-tempo groove and finds Win Butler repeating "I'm a modern man" as if he's trying to convince the listener of something he doesn't quite believe himself yet. The musical mood swings continue as laid back tracks like "Rococo" and "Wasted Hours" are given "Empty Room" and "Month of May," two of the most animated tracks on the album, as neighbors. Although, on first listen, this pitting of tunes against each other may cause the album to seem sporadic, on further listens, the sheer genius of the track ordering and songwriting as a whole rings out.
The apex of the album occurs during "Suburban War." The realization of inevitable maturity begins to be accepted as Butler's earlier cry of "I would rather be wrong than live in the shadows of your song" becomes "I've been living in the shadows of your song." The truth comes out, denial becomes acceptance and the song's tempo doubles as the line "all my old friends, they don't know me now" is hauntingly repeated.
The Suburbs finds Arcade Fire taking a longing look at the naivety of their youth while looking forward to what the future holds. Where their first two albums leaned heavily on stand out singles like "Wake Up," "Rebellion," "Keep the Car Running," and "Intervention," The Suburbs is much more of a complete work meant to be taken in as a single, hour long journey between adolescence and adulthood. Longtime fans of Arcade Fire will always hold Funeral on a pedestal, untouchable by future releases, but just as children often grimace at being compared to their parents, The Suburbs is a masterpiece worthy of such an analogy.
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