Notes on a Should-be Thursday

Alright! Arcade Fire album! The Suburbs! Hipsters and indie-kids everywhere are going bananas for this album. Here's my two cents:*

source: rockinandblogin.com

 Overall, they're continuing in a great direction. It's got a youthful vibe, that's rich with the promise of new beginnings yet still nostalgic enough to remind you of driving around in your high school best friend's junker. "Modern Man" and "Rococo" are getting some heavy rotation on Alonso, which is funny since they're pretty different. "Modern Man" is a bit stripped down, more acoustic-sounding, with a very dance-tastic edge to it. "Rococo" is a bit more like "Wake Up"-- expansive and powerful, with a giant sound that fills up your headphones. The harmonies are spectacular, frankly, and the epic orchestral sound is very title-appropriate. Which is great, because it means that they actually fact-checked themselves and weren't like "this name sounds cool . . ." Extra points for the harpsichord sound on the end, and the great strings segue-way into "Empty Room." 


I like it a lot. It's got that synth-string thing going on that I like (particularly in "Half Light I"), some decent percussion, and enough surprises to not be a monotonous string of indie self-indulgence. That being said. Pitchfork was going on about this album like it was the second coming of Christ. I don't know if I would go that far. I certainly agree that the band is in a different place, emotionally, then they were on their last album, or the album before that. But their last album was three years ago. And I think most people hit a point where they prefer honesty over anything else . . . at least I know I did. 

source: Guardian UK

I also really like the song, "Suburban War," probably because it's like they climbed into my life and wrote about it. I, like so many kids in America, am a product of the suburbs. And like most indie-kids, I have that one friend that chose to view the suburbs as the enemy--our hometown, as the enemy. Now she lives faraway in a city that she maintains is her hometown . . . which kind of sucks, because I feel like it totally disregards the really idyllic childhood we all had.  . .  But that's just personal hoopla, really.




Arcade Fire just seems to have a talent for hitting on universal emotions, as all great bands are. They have a sound that defines a tribe of kids, without being repetitive, or overly obnoxious. 


Also download: "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"

*It should be noted that I am not an Arcade Fire connoisseur. I have Funeral and Neon Bible, but I'm basically a big fan of "Keep the Car Running" and "Wake Up," and then I like all the rest of it.