14th September - Arcade Fire's Funeral

Artist – Album: Arcade Fire – Funeral

Released:  14^th September 2004

Sounds Like: The power’s out, in the heart of man. Take it from your heart, put it in your hand.

Here is a list of things I don’t like about this album:

1.       The flawed logic of a line in ‘Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)’ – “they say a watched pot won’t ever boil, well I closed my eyes and nothin’ changed” – has always grated with me. This fallacy is known as denying the antecedent and it makes about as much sense as saying “If Jim reads my blog, then Jim has good taste. Jim does not read my blog, therefore he doesn’t have good taste.” Which is just silly; it’s obvious that there will be some people who do not read my blog that still have good taste (although someone needs to tell them where to find it sharpish).

Anddddd… that’s it! Arcade Fire’s debut album is damn near perfect. In fact, if I were to write a list of things I do like about the album, you’d run out of patience before I run out of things I love.

It’s a modern classic, with genuine emotion and hurt rising from the recent passing of a number of the group’s relatives, set against a backdrop of rousing indie rock. Some songs are political (‘7 Kettles’ and ‘Rebellion (Lies)’), some are pained or alienated (‘Tunnels’ and ‘Power Out’), some have even come from dangerous and exotic sounding places that most of us will never see, but each song is still relatable and accessible. I think at some point or another every song on the album has been my favourite, but the four that round things off currently hold that honour. ‘Wake Up’ is a shifting anthem, with a danceable pay off that surprises following the epic sprawl that preceded it. ‘Haïti’ ropes in peppy xylophones to back Régine Chassagne’s chaotic recounting of her homeland. ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ was the biggest hit, which is no mean feat for a rocking juggernaut led by Will Butler’s howls about death and the “lies, lies” sing songy call and response of the chorus. Things close with ‘In the Backseat’, a ghostly track featuring Chassange’s best Bjork impression and one that undoubtedly means so much more than its face value of watching the world from a back seat window.

Since releasing this album in 2004 Arcade Fire have found success with two other astonishing records (with another due to come out next month). It says everything that, despite the sheer brilliance of every single one of their records, this is still the one that people turn to.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) – 4:48

2.       Neighborhood #2 (Laïka) – 3:33

3.       Une année sans lumière – 3:40

4.       Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) – 5:12

5.       Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) – 4:49

6.       Crown of Love – 4:42

7.       Wake Up – 5:39

8.       Haïti – 4:07

9.       Rebellion (Lies) – 5:10

10.   In the Backseat – 6:21

Listen to ‘Haïti’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwcaDvr8f1o  

Also released on 14^th September:

1993: Counting Crows – August and Everything After

2nd August - Arcade Fire's The Suburbs

Artist – Album: Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Released:  2^nd August 2010

Sounds Like: The sound of The Suburbs

The Arcade Fire’s very own Win Butler described the sound of this album as “a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young”, a comparison which should give some measure of the maturity, if slightly jaded approach, to the music on The Suburbs.

For the record, there’s a lot more of Neil Young in this (plaintive vocals, baroque arrangements, conceptual theme, and confessional lyrics) than Depeche Mode (ambition, a mild electro-pop/AOR bent), but this is far more than a tribute album. Whilst the emphatic ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ can’t help but conjure up images of Blondie circa ‘Heart of Glass’, ‘The Suburbs’ is jauntily Kinks-esque and ‘Empty Room’ sounds uncannily like it could break into a cover of ‘French Disko’ by Stereolab at any time, the majority of the album is unquestionably Arcade Fire-like. ‘Ready to Start’ is probably the best example, a souped-up version of Funeral’s ‘Rebellion (Lies)’, complete with the grand, barked chorus, and ascending coda.

Each of the Canadian outfits’ albums have been exceptional; each with its own theme and a high level of consistency that never falters. Funeral had more anthems, and Neon Bible more than its fair share of woes, but I get the feeling that this is the one that could ultimately be seen as their masterpiece.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       The Suburbs – 5:15

2.       Ready to Start – 4:15

3.       Modern Man – 4:39

4.       Rococo – 3:56

5.       Empty Room – 2:51

6.       City with No Children – 3:11

7.       Half Light I – 4:13

8.       Half Light II (No Celebration) – 4:25

9.       Suburban War – 4:45

10.   Month of May – 3:50

11.   Wasted Hours – 3:20

12.   Deep Blue – 4:28

13.   We Used to Wait – 5:01

14.   Sprawl I (Flatland) – 2:54

15.   Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – 5:25

16.   The Suburbs (continued) – 1:27

Listen to ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awHWColYQ90