Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"

[dgp11776]

So I see some of you also caught the leak of this album.  I'm about midway through my first run, and I am very impressed.  Anybody else?

[bloop]

Um - might do it for the game.  Sorry.

[dgp11776]

I was actually going to type "and please don't everybody say they are going to use it for the game."  Dang.

[Josh]

I'm NOT going to do it for the game, so I'll post my thoughts here a bit later, as I find time. 

[Josh]

I have listened to the full album four times now.

I'm very curious to see how it fares with critics and fans. It's very much a sequel to Funeral, but a bigger, badder sequel, with some distinct variations and expansions on their signature sound. It's Arcade Fire through and through, but it's far from a rehash.

Anyway, I expect it'll make many of our year-end top ten lists on the merit of two songs alone. Many of you have heard "Intervention" already, but, if you haven't... it's a monster. "Power Out" on steroids. It's the most breathtaking and intoxicating thing they've ever done. And then there's "Antichrist Television Blues," which finds Butler singing in a full-on Springsteen roar... indeed, it could pass for an outtake from Born to Run, but what's amazing is the spiritual drama in the lyrics, and the straightforwardly prayerful nature of the lyrics.

Oh, yeah... there's a startling dialogue with the Almighty that runs throughout the disc.

So, is it as good as Funeral? Maybe. The highlights are every bit as strong. Something about it keeps me from giving it a whole-hearted rave at this point, though, and I think it has something to do with the sequencing... the pacing just seems off somehow, at least in the first half. But it's definitely a knockout, and further proof that Arcade Fire is one of the best things to happen to rock music in years.

[bloop]

I'm a little paranoid about running out of albums to use for the game, but I have a few clear rules for myself, mostly to make the game interesting.  If a critical consensus becomes very clear, for example, I might choose another album just to throw people off a little.

Also, I've only listened to it once all the way through.  My kind of music drives my wife crazy, so I wait until she goes to work to play it.

[dgp11776]

Many of you have heard "Intervention" already, but, if you haven't... it's a monster. "Power Out" on steroids. It's the most breathtaking and intoxicating thing they've ever done.

Yeah, "Intervention" has Song of the Year written all over it.  I absolutely love it.

[bloop]

I decided not to do this album for the game.  I gave it a solid A (8.5).  It does have some pacing issues (but perhaps something as simple as gaps between the actual tracks can help here), but it's very strong song-for-song.

[Josh]

I went A-, but I debated about giving it a full A, and might move it up eventually. I gave Funeral an A, though, and I think that album is probably the better of the two. Some of the songs here are as good as anything on Funeral, though-- I'm thinking specifically of "Intervention," "Antichrist Television Blues," and perhaps even "Windowsill." Not sure how I feel about the broad strokes toward the end of that song, though, when Butler throws out the metaphor and directly names America and then MTV. It's bold, but I'm not sure how well it works...

[bloop]

I noticed that you went with the full A, and even leap-frogged it over Patty Griffin.

(I've been thinking of raising it myself - the album sounds quite a bit better than 160 kbps mp3s could do justice.  Then again, I might not - I'm not so sure about the track order on this one.  You kind of have to think of the album in thirds to appreciate it, I guess.)

[Josh]

I noticed that you went with the full A, and even leap-frogged it over Patty Griffin.

(I've been thinking of raising it myself - the album sounds quite a bit better than 160 kbps mp3s could do justice.  Then again, I might not - I'm not so sure about the track order on this one.  You kind of have to think of the album in thirds to appreciate it, I guess.)

Really, I'm having a tough time choosing between the two-- and in fact, Andrew Bird is creeping up on the list as well, frowing in stature more and more as I spend time with it. I think Patty's album is more consistent than Arcade Fire's, but Arcade Fire's got enough dynamite, knock-it-out-of-the-park songs that I find myself listening to it slightly more at this point.

[bloop]

Wow - Plugged In came up with something that approaches thoughtful.

[Brenden]

Yeah, I was quite suprised.

I thought sure they'd find a reason to hate it, but it seems they liked it.