The Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" (Merge)
By Peter A. Holden
Wednesday. Apr 11, 2:40 PM
Everything you’ve already heard about this album is absolutely true.

Sophomore slumps. Nothing makes a groundbreaking band a forgotten memory like a sophomore album that tanks rather than triumphs. Bet you thought I was going to rant and rave about a bad album. Sorry, The Arcade Fire’s follow up to 2004’s Funeral, Neon Bible, does not tank. It IS a tank, actually. In fact, it’s a flagship. If Funeral was the fruit basket of music (whereby you pick and choose “yes I like apples, cheese and wine, but come on cranberry jelly? Fruitcake? Who eats those?”), Neon Bible is the six course meal at the Ritz Carlton in New York. Everything you’ve already heard about this album is absolutely true.

What makes the album so strong is the ebb and flow of grandeur and a seemingly perfect sense of pacing. From the midtempo rise of the first single “Black Mirror” to the slight increase of speed and charge on “Keep the Car Running,” the transitions swell with steady might. Gracefully and smoothly, the title track swoons in and soothes for a brief sad lullaby before fading away gently and allowing for a triumphant majestic return of epic “Intervention.” I’ve rarely in my life heard songs so well crafted into the framework of an album that still manage to require no help from other tracks. Neon Bible has no throw-away. Any one could be a monster single and sail them into success. But, we don’t get that urgency of the “hit single” that so much pop music seeks out. Every song takes it time to achieve what it wants and needs. We get to bask in well-developed patience.

The second key to the success of Neon Bible goes to back to the fruit basket idea. Great music requires ironing out the kinks. Refining the sound you wish to achieve. Sometimes it’s a focused effort for one single goal, sometimes it’s constantly reinventing. If the artists manage to do everything “right” in crafting their songs, and the stars align, they create sheer perfection. They hammer out the rough spots, bang away till the weaknesses don’t stick up anymore, and maybe, just maybe, are blessed with timing. Then, they nail their sound and don’t waste any precious moments. No more fruit cake pieces or random starlight mints leftover. Everything offered is tasty and delicious.

Something about The Arcade Fire always used to remind me of Talking Heads. I‘m sure it was mostly the vocals, but the way that the unique instrumentation connected with rockabilly jangles and odd changes seemed to add to that character as well. The Arcade Fire have distinguished themselves from any David Byrne-isms with this album. If anything, there is more Bruce Springsteen and Danny Elfman this time around. And somehow it works incredibly well. Slathered with church organ and strings for which Tim Burton would sit up and beg. Majesty frosts over blue-collar folk rock in this symphonic pop cake. Marble cake, of course.

One of the amazing achievements of a great album is its capacity to achieve blinding listenability. When a record or a performance captivates you so much you don’t even notice the time passing, it’s a remarkable thing. It’s also quickly becoming a rarity these days. Harkens back to the time of audiences going out for a night at the symphony… for three hours. I wonder if we have that kind of patience anymore? Luckily, Neon Bible just may rekindle that spirit in many. It definitely did for me. And it gets better with every full listen. It just may be one of the last great ALBUMS in the classic sense. It’s a powerful collection of tunes, but an even more powerful work in its entirety.
www.arcadefire.com
www.mergerecords.com

Listen to a song from this album in our Radio section!

Click here to buy this album on iTunes!

Click here to download the iTunes jukebox application for Macintosh or Windows!

Peter A. Holden

Got something constructive to say? By all means, rant away. Gonna blab about something unrelated and/or talk shit? Don't expect your comment to stick around.