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.