Here we are.  After weeks of counting, chatter, backhanders and an ocean of tears from those that didn't make the cut, we come to it.  The Big One.  After Darwin Deez at five, Mystery Jets at four, Black Keys at three and Yeasayer at two it comes to the top spot which was taken, perhaps unsurprisingly, by the exquistely talented Arcade Fire.

The ultimate band band to bridge the gap between commercial and critical acclaim, The Suburbs is the album that finally took them to the those in the records title and ,below, Lord Rich Kemp tells us just why its come out on top.  Cheers for voting!


 


Let’s face it: 2010 was destined to be Arcade Fire’s year. From the moment the Canadian rock opera troupe announced they were working on their third studio album, every Arcade Fire fan-boy and girl around the world positively wet themselves in unified glee. Pop fans may not have had any idea what was to hit them, but they soon found out when Win Butler and co. became the poster children for every indie magazine cool list compilation. If there was any album that could have been predicted a winner without even having listened to it, it was The Suburbs.

 
At a crowd-pleasing sixteen tracks, the record dazzles and excites from the very opening track as 'The Suburbs' crashes into existence with its clean, banjo-centred melody and heart-wrenching lyrics. Although victim to the gross radio overplay delivered to such popular songs, even now 'The Suburbs' has yet to become a nuisance to the eardrums. Instead, the track’s uncanny ability to shine above its peers makes for pertinent listening again and again.

Following this comes 'Ready To Start'; a raucous, uplifting affair of possibly giant proportions. From the opening chimes, it’s clear that this track is going to be no less splendid that its predecessor. Naturally, the bands third studio effort holds more gold than simply the first two tracks. Skewed number 'Rococo' builds on its operatic beginnings to eventually implode on itself and boom jubilantly, sending your spine shivering. The track’s chilling church organ harks back to their second offering Neon Bible, where the band recorded their entire album in an illustrious, old church. 'Rococo' serves as a pounding reincarnation of Nirvana’s In Bloom, taking a pop at scene-filling hipsters:

Let’s go downtown and talk to the modern kids.
They will eat right out of your hand
Using big words that they don’t understand

Although undoubtedly overflowing with inspiring anthems like 'Suburban War', glorious, melodramatic triumph with 'City with No Children' and delicious menace such as 'Deep Blue', there is a nagging, radio-friendly sentiment intertwined throughout the record. 'Half Light II (Celebration)' smacks of old 80s pop, 'We Used To Wait' all but springs into a cover of George Harrison’s 'Got My Mind Set On You' and 'Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)' almost feels like a re-hash of Buggles. This definitely feels like Arcade Fire, but there’s much less of a challenge to this album – as if they were perhaps priming this one for mass consumption.

 Clearly, any artist that writes, records and performs with love deserves as much radio exposure as possible, but popularity must always be treated with care and scepticism and not result in an artist alienating their original fan base. Anyone who has listened to Biffy Clyro or Foo Fighters has first hand experience of feeling left out in the cold while pop fans rejoice in their new-found favourite band. Of course, if there is one band that can do no wrong right now it is Arcade Fire. Using both the wild creativity of Funeral and the dark expression of Neon Bible as guides, the Canadian rock opera fiends have succeeded once again. Scoring higher than ever, they display enough flair to divert our gazes away from the near-mediocre long enough to hit us with another barrage of brilliance, creating not only a successful record for everyone and their mother’s dog to love, but a third offering to appease even their most diehard fans.

Amongst others, The Suburbs was voted for by Rich (2nd place), Ben Keightley (1st), Paul Schofield (1st), David Hillier (5th) and Terry Hall (2nd).




Rich's Top Five Albums were:

1. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM - This Is Happening
2. ARCADE FIRE - The Suburbs
3. THE NATIONAL - High Violet
4. PULLED APART BY HORSES - Pulled Apart By Horses
5. THE BLACK KEYS - Brothers

Posted In Features, Dec 11 2010. Words - Gobshout Team 2