They’re heavily into The Suburbs
Something is weighing heavily on the minds of Arcade Fire. Since Funeral, their 2004 debut, the Montreal septet has shown a penchant for emotional heaviness in their string-backed, piano-driven, guitar-hammering arena rock. Will any amount of belting heal their tattered hearts? Let’s hope not, because in The Suburbs they’re as visceral as ever – and superb.
Suburbia functions as the backdrop for nearly every track on the album. The band’s mixed emotions for the setting make for fantastic material. Mostly, The Suburbs is a melancholy recollection of childhood, a common theme for the band. “Took a drive into the sprawl / To find the places we used to play / It was the loneliest day of my life,” yelps frontman Win Butler, sounding spectral with almost no accompaniment on “Sprawl (Flatlands).” It’s this accessibility that makes the album so easy to love. We’ve all taken Butler’s drive, and the anguish he imparts is very relatable. But the band also reminds us that childhood is easily idealized and that our minds tend erase the messy parts (“We’re still kids in buses longing to be free”). Singer Régine Chassagne, channeling new wave aesthetics (“Heart of Glass” anyone?) wails, “They heard me singing and they told me to stop / Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock.”
There’s a great deal to experience here, and one definitive sound certainly can’t be pinned down. new wave, punk, chamber pop – it’s all there. As Butler stated in a July Spin article, the album is supposed to sound something like a mix between Depeche Mode and Neil Young. Don’t worry: both of these influences come out and work together well. The general consensus is that The Suburbs delivers, and I must agree. My only criticism is that the album leaves us bereft of another “Wake Up,” that is to say another utter masterpiece. There are definitely some great ones, but nothing quite reaches the level of their signature piece. The Suburbs is nonetheless brilliant, however, in its accessibility and its musical landscape, placing Arcade Fire in that elite tier of bands that have put out nothing but the best. 4/5 Andrew Kimball
