Released 2nd August 2010, on Mercury Records
The thing with bands who have the grandeur of Arcade Fire is that you put all your cultural capital on them. Not so much a ticket, more a way of life. Their third offering comes off the back of the most ambitious & moving albums of the last decade. So then... the dreaded third album. To show you can stretch your musical legs, without going so far people don't recognise you from your original self. Thankfully the 'Fire pull this off with unairing ease. For all the different influences on this album they'll never abandon robust musicianship with heartfelt lyrics.
Because of how it was promoted we know the opening sequence of tracks by note, and what an opening! It sets the tone and frames the subject perfectly. When it was first announced they were 'presenting' an album on the theme of suburbia I thought 'hmmm, yeah there's scope there, but a whole albums worth?'. But it really works. It's message may not be as urgent as it's predecessors, but it's delivered with all the drama and insight that's made them a seminal act for a generation.
On a musical level, the development here is really interesting. Having reverted to their original 'leaner' incarnation the structure in many of the songs sounds like a regular drums-bass-guitar-vox setup. Even the timing has a more standard 4/4 motif (having said, 'Modern Man', I think, has a really tricky 7/8 signature in many ways 'like a record that keeps skipping'- achingly subtle). As such there aren’t as many obvious festival anthems, but I'm bizarrely pleased at this. Like saying "we can give you those songs anytime, you'll hear them later in the set. These are equally as accomplished". Our investment of faith has been more than rewarded.
Also the current arrangement, whilst underplaying many of their luxurious elements (strings, accordian, hurdy-gurdy, etc) allows them to bring to prominence their greatest band asset: Win Butler. Never before has a man been so well equipped to represent the blue-collar masses whist clutching a well eared French novel (and after the revolution would still have the energy to beat Barack at some one-on-one). On this record he seems to be more confident in standing in the light by himself. Take the haunting 'Suburban War', a lamenting ballad about leaving a small town sweetheart: 'now the cities we live in could be distant stars / I look for you in passing cars'. Such is the gravitas of his delivery even the accompanying instruments wouldn't be missed were they not there.
This however isn't to say that The Suburbs hits the heights on every track. At 16 full tracks you can understand industry rumours this could've been a double album. And whilst it's a great concept to complement songs as two parts ('Sprawl II...' is a stand-out highlight), there are times when the listeners attention can waver like being stuck in a overly long seminar. But with it's sublime orchestral reprise the perfect way to end this album, like waving through the back window as you leave town.
A quick word on the cover. When my copy turned up I thought it was the same one I'd seen as the promo. But it wasn't, and that's the thing - all images of suburbia all look the same. With the car complementing the recurrent references to them in the songs (obviously a metaphor of freedom & escaping). So the vehicle can be seen as constantly driving round the same neighbourhood captured in the different covers. And they say modern bands don't consider albums as artistic documents?
So should we be happy to go live in The Suburbs? You bet. It gives you a platform to look back on all that angst, frustration and longing we had growing up. To not only realise they didn't kill you, like this band - they empowered you.
Words- Ben Spoor
Posted In Album Reviews, Aug 06 2010.
Words - Publisher 2