The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Review [2]
Posted by James Munson on 03.08.2007
The little band from Canada that could unleashes second full-length album, Neon Bible. Evading the sophomore slump, this could be one of the best records of 2007.
In 2004, an album called Funeral was released on indie label Merge Records. Following rave reviews and some club touring, something happened. The Arcade Fire’s popularity escalated at an exponential rate after the music fans caught on to the band’s fiery, chaotic live shows. They rocked festivals (like Lollapalooza), moved from clubs to large theatres, and even opened for U2 (who arrived on stage nightly to the tune of “Wake Up” on their Vertigo tour).
Three years later, The Arcade Fire finally release Neon Bible amidst a whirlwind of hype, many promotional videos found on a mini-website solely devoted to the album, and random live dates in churches (the album is even footnoted as being recorded at “the church” in Quebec). One might expect this record to contain church organs, a choir, and an overall gospel feel (the first two are especially spot-on). Even one of the songs off their 2003 EP, “No Cars Go”, was re-recorded (and better produced) for the album
Much like Funeral, Neon Bible is a collection of songs that is best digested as a whole instead of skipping around or snagging certain tracks for a mix cd (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Some of the same subject matter is covered: fear, doubt, war, religion, etc. While not as consistently solid as Funeral, this is an outstanding effort that expands upon The Arcade Fire’s sound without sounding like a bland version of this album’s predecessor.
A rumbling sound that crescendos into a pummeling keyboard line opens “Black Mirror”, the disc’s first track. Around two-and-a-half minutes in, Regine Chassagne’s vocals join Win Butler’s as an orchestral strings section builds in the background. “Keep the Car Running” continues the momentum with an uplifting fiddle riff, string plucking and hand claps. This song’s swagger and Butler’s narration (“Men are coming to take me away/I don’t know why, but I know I can’t stay.”) make this one of the first standout tracks.
The brief, lullaby-like “Neon Bible” is an excellent slow-tempo number that precedes “Intervention”, which might be “Wake Up” version 2.0. Driven by church organs and a slow-burning beginning that swells into the chorus declaration, “Working for the church while your (my) family dies,” it’s a superb choice for a first single. Other noteworthy tracks include the beautiful, bitter “Windowsill” (“MTV, what have you done to me?/Save my soul, set me free!”) and the September 11th recollection “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, with lyrics such as, “I don’t wanna work in a building downtown/No I don’t wanna see when the planes hit the ground.”
The gloomy, organ-tinged “My Body Is a Cage” closes out the album. In one of the first verses, Butler sings, “I’m standing on a stage of fear and self-doubt/It’s a hollow play, but they’ll clap anyway.” While themes of fear and self-doubt pervade The Arcade Fire’s songs, their execution of these songs filled with emotion, confidence, spirituality, and passion. With these elements, The Arcade Fire will continue to make remarkable music, straight from the heart, for years to come.
The 411: Sophomore slump this isn’t. An essential listen from beginning to end, Neon Bible is the kind of second album you would expect from a band whose popularity is sky-rocketing, yet still remains unknown to the average music fan. The only drawback to The Arcade Fire on record is that the songs sound more fantastic live. As far as drawbacks go, that’s a pretty fine accomplishment.
