Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

The Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral is one of the best releases of the 'year 2005. While it deservedly catapulted the Canadian band to international attention, it also had to put the pressure on for this follow-up.

The much anticipated second release from the Montreal group has arrived and it appears that not only did the band avoid a sophomore jinx of any kind, but Neon Bible has actually exceeded expectations.

Recording in an old church, the Arcade Fire washed the new album in reverb and allowed plenty of space for the songs to live and breath. The addition of the pipe organ adds further weight to the band’s heavier-than-heaven aesthetic, and not only weight but overall dimension as well.

Sharing its title with a John Kennedy Toole novel, the Arcade Fire's second album is markedly different from its more cloistered predecessor. Striving to transcend the human condition is the album’s main theme, and yes, it ends up being a reflection of the time in which it was written.

Beyond the philosophy and world-weariness of the lyrics and message, the album rocks. Hard. People don’t write rock music like this these days, and it might be true that no one ever has. With Neon Bible, the Arcade Fire has set itself up as one of the best bands of its generation. The band’s timeless music doesn’t fit any age and surpasses any genre limitations. In 30 years, someone unfamiliar with the band won’t be able to listen to this album and immediately pick out influences or contemporaries. The Arcade Fire’s sound is wholly self-contained.

Track Listing

Black Mirror

Keep The Car Running

Neon Bible

Intervention

Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations

Ocean of Noise

The Well and The Lighthouse

(Antichrist Television Blues)

Windowsill

No Cars Go

My Body Is A Cage