Arcade Fire is a very interesting band. They have been around while and have been recording music for almost a decade. Their first record, a self-titled EP came out in 2003, followed by a string of 3 full length albums. Their latest album has surpassed all their previous efforts in popularity and creativity. It recently won a Grammy for the Best Album of 2011. So what makes it so amazing to garner such critical and commercial success and does it deserve these accolades?
Consisting of 16 songs, The Suburbs lasts just under one hour. After several listens, I answer my own questions with a resounding affirmative. This album is absolutely fascinating. Being an Arcade Fire newbie, I was unsure what to expect as I approached this music, but I have been won over by incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking lyrics, inventive melodies and arrangements, and a cohesiveness rarely found in the modern album. Arcade Fire is certainly an eclectic band, but one that moves comfortably between pop radio tunes and funky indie-style experimentalish tracks, while still managing to maintain accessible to the mainstream.
The best part of this album is its cohesive story. The Suburbs is named after the location central to its story. This album explores the lifestyle, tendencies, and behaviors of those who grow up in the suburbs. It paints a picture of kids who let its pace, expectations, and ruthless pull towards being average crush their dreams, ambitions, and passions. This is an amazingly common fear that many who grow up in middle class America face throughout their early lives and especially through their high-school and college careers. I find it interesting that many of the lyrics describe the narrator's efforts to go into the city as an escape, yet he only finds different versions of the same problem there as well. The album asks, is the world too small to avoid the sprawl? It hopes not, because to these artists the dead routine of the suburbs is killing creativity, freedom, and adventure.
The songs on this album flow into each other, creating an amazing story. One song begins right where the previous song ended, often with a new melody or pace but the same words. My main critique of the album, which is more a personal one, is that often the lyrics were not sung very clearly in some of the songs. It took a good read through of the lyrics to catch much of the subtlety. I recommend reading through the lyrics as your listen to many of the songs, especially throughout the middle of the record.
I am a huge fan of this album and I implore you to buy it, listen to it, and think about your life. Where do you live? Why are you there? What kind of work do you do? Are you settling for an average, safe existence? What can you do better to really wring the most life out of the one you have to live, in the place where you are?
God has called us higher than an average life.
Some songs I particularly enjoyed:
- The Suburbs
- Ready to Start
- Wasted Hours
- Sprawl II
It's super cheap now ($3.50)!
Michael
