New Review of Arcade Fire

At first listen, it is easy to get swept up in the grand orchestral sound of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. The front man Win Butler and his wife Regine Chassagne's sophomore album does sound in a big way, with every instrument under the sun incorporated from the pipe organ to the hurdy- gurdy. Arcade Fire's strong point is in provoking  the exasperation and anger that every semi-conscious person who has stopped and taken a look at the state of affairs has had and stretching and padding them until they reaching a bursting point along with every crescendo that comes with almost every track on the album. However, at second listen, once one is able to regain a rational mind and able to sparse out Butler's lyrics, one begins to see that his lyrics are often carried away by the sound. In a song that does little in the way of lyrical talent like"Black Mirror," he sings " I walked down to the ocean/after waking from a nightmare/ no moon/no pale reflection/black mirror,black mirror." Although the music is undoubtedly beautiful and grandiose, the overwhelmingly melodramatic and at times apocalyptic lyrics leave you hopelessly melancholy and suspicious. A word of advice; do not listen to Neon Bible before 9 a.m, it will have you seeing the signs of the end of the world everywhere, eyeing your local Barista to make sure he isn't spiking your coffee.

Its been years since I have been lulled by the promises of religion, years since the beautiful but cathartic promises of redemption rang true.  I can say without the slightest murmur of doubt that Arcade Fire has converted me into a true believer of the redemtive and critical power of music.  Their call, among other things, is to resist the numbing influences of church and media that stun the masses into oblivion. Win Butlers ability to provoke the listener into a mind space of apolcolypic rage while simeltaeously wanting to sob at the ethereal, epic beauty of the organ and piano in his songs is  true musical genius.  Arcade Fire's sophmore album Neon Bible, which debuted in 2007 is a haunting, intensely robust record complete with an organ, xylophone, and various stringed instruments that transport and awaken. In " Intervention," a dramatic and almost hymnal critique of the church, he sings "Working for the church/While your family dies/You take what they give you/And you keep it inside/Every spark of friendship and love/Will die without a home/ Hear the soldier groan "We'll go at it alone."  In an equally choir like song "My Body is a Cage" Butler sings about the limits of the body(although I am sure this can be open to intepretation) and prays to set his body free in a cresecendo that increases the heart rate. Every song is an experiment, a journey, a new opportunity to look at the things we take for granted in a new light. In this album they are unafraid of matching dramatic lyrics with even more dramatic composition, and although in other circumstances this can be the recipe for a garish and busy disaster, in Arcade Fire's case, it makes for an memorable and larger than life sound. I am converted. A true believer.