Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

After the fairly overwrought and occasionally plodding Neon Bible, it seemed that Arcade Fire had to recapture some of the musical fun and energy of their classic debut Funeral. Within seconds of The Suburbs, that energy appears to be back in spades, as the opening title track breezes in with jaunty piano and a hazy, soft focus production courtesy of Markus Dravs (Bjork, Brian Eno, Coldplay).

It sets up the wistful mood of much of the album perfectly, and is mirrored at the other end of the LP by a reprise of the song with different lyrics and a much more subdued backing. The lyrical focus of the album is centred on Win Butler's childhood in Houston, much of it being centred on negative memories. But this final track reveals how Butler really feels about that period of his life - "If I could have it back, All the time that we wasted I'd only waste it again. If I could have it back, you know I'd love to waste it again, waste it again and again and again."

Other reviews have thrown some big comparisons at this album - Neil Young, U2, Springsteen, even Blondie - but without fail, the band bring their own energy to each track - Suburban War shifts from delicate mid tempo strumalong into a thrilling fire-and-brimstone conclusion, propelled by what sounds like a massed legion of drummers. Following track Month of May injects some punkish attitude into the typical Arcade Fire sound, City with No Children is the likely root of the Springsteen comparisons and is lyrically the centre of Butler's reminiscences about his childhood. Full of engines failing, underground highways and "Millionaires quoting the sermon on the mount" this song captures the mixed feeling Butler has for his childhood perfectly, setting them against a jaunty, bass heavy and anthemic backing.

However, one new feature marks a change in feel to the band's previous work - both Half Light II and Sprawl II introduce synths to the already busy Arcade Fire sound palette. One thing particularly striking is how natural the change feels on these tracks, the new electronic elements slotting into the band's sound seamlessly and Sprawl II is particularly successful in this regard. All of the tracks sung by Regine Chassagne are given an otherworldly feel by her glacial, energetic melodies and offset Butler's occasional tendency to tilt over into preachiness.

At 16 tracks, one would think this album may be cursed by being overlong but it never feels it. The structure and sequencing of the album is incredibly well thought out, and rewards repeated listens. Not quite the classic that Funeral was, but a definite improvement on Neon Bible.

9.5/10