September Music Review - The Suburbs
I remember the first Arcade Fire song I ever heard. I was living Calgary and had just turned on the tube to unwind after a day under fluorescent lights. “Rebellion” from the album Funeral was playing on Much Music. Yes, music videos were still a popular medium at the time. The persistent beat and haunting melody drew me in, and I couldn’t tear myself from the colourful march of people and array of instruments this seven-piece band plays in the video. “Rebellion” played in my head endlessly until I finally succumbed and purchased the CD.
Fast forward six years to the news of a new Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs. One click in the iTunes Store and it was swiftly imported into my music files on my computer. (While I love the instant nature of purchasing music these days, especially living in Fernie – a town that hasn’t seen a record store since Sound Centre in the 90’s - I still covet the physical and palpable-ness of CD’s.)
Funeral was somber, not surprisingly seeing as the title referred to the deaths the band members mourned during the recording of the album. I completely devoured Funeral, and many of these tracks continue to be regulars on my seemingly infinite playlists.
Next came Neon Bible in 2006. Did you know that the band purchased a non-functioning church in Quebec and turned it into a studio to record this album? Pretty cool. Like Funeral, this album gained international recognition including being ranked “among the best indie rock recordings of all time” by Jason Reeher, writer for Trouser Press.
Throughout the summer of 2009 the evocative “Wake Up” from Funeral was heard around the world during the trailers for Where the Wild Things Are. Whether you were interested in seeing this Spike Jonze film or not, viewing the trailer accompanied by “Wake Up” probably had you highly anticipating its October release.
And then one day this May, the 27th to be exact, it was announced that the first single from Arcade Fire’s new album, The Suburbs, was available for download with the remaining album being released this August. Yippee! New music of artists you already know and love is nearly as good as discovering and falling for a new one. This album is already jumping up in my most played folder in iTunes, and while there are songs that I don't absolutely love (yet) The Suburbs did not disappoint and seems like a natural succession from Arcade Fire’s two previous albums – it’s a must have in any music library. If you haven’t heard of Arcade Fire or are confusing them with the local band Arcade Files, get on iTunes asap and start downloading.
“This is a gradual gradient of maturity from Funeral (people die) to Neon Bible (EVERYONE DIES!) to The Suburbs (but, y'know, it's not going to happen today so just chill out). The progression is similar to the one William Blake takes us through in Songs Of Innocence And Experience that suggests forward momentum and maturity.”
- John Doran, The Quietus
