No less self-important but much less somber, The Suburbs definitely has some pleasures that make it possibly the best Arcade Fire album so far. The piano driven shuffle of the opening title track**** may shamble dangerously close to Billy Joel territory, but with far more modesty. "Ready To Start"**** is amazing in the live setting, and recaptures the energy that made Funeral so loved, making excellent use of the tension left at the end of the choruses. "City With No Children"**** has chiming U2 riffs, and the earnest aspirations to match, but on a likable human scale, while Chassagne's vocal brings the choruses to an Abba sweetness; but her finest contribution may be dance-new wave "Sprawl II"****, with her quirky but impassioned vocal. "Half Light II"**** also uses new wave a jumping-off point, adding an ethereal soundscape. Of course, there is a hearty helping of muted somber ruminations such as "Modern Man" and "Wasted Hours" that threaten to bog down the second half of the album, but for the most part the energy level is up. Though easily mistaken for Coldplay, the delayed arpeggiated chords keep "Suburban War" interesting, while the slap-back guitar effect on "Half Light I" give the song an appropriate spaciousness. One of the stranger turns is the repetitive but disturbingly catchy "Rococco"****, that builds from angular bass tones where Win wails about "my dear God what is that horrible song they're singing" to a stomping military rocker. "Empty Room" and "Month Of May" retain the album's momentum, though the many references to the "arms folded tight" in the latter get old quickly, and closing out the faltering second side, "The Suburbs (continued)" just rehashes the opening track with a sleepy orchestral arrangement - just in case you forgot this was a concept album about 'the kids' or something - and should have been left off.
Comments