The Arcade Fire has always had a very distinct sound to their music. From their debut, Funeral, it was obvious that this was a band to watch in the future, and their second release, Neon Bible, showed that they weren’t a one hit wonder kind of band. Their lyrical musings of neighborhoods, families, death, and coming of age in Funeral were perfectly set against their darker, brooding, ensemble sound, and it truly was a treat to listen to. For me personally, it struck a deep chord and I always find the emotion they pour into their music to be wonderful, characterized perfectly by frontman Win Butler’s wailing vocals complimented by an orchestral influence which wasn’t simply an accessory to their overall sound.
When they came around again with Neon Bible, it showed that they not only had what it takes to apply a truly epic edge to their music, but they also knew just where to place powerful pieces of instruments such as grand organs and choirs, and I think that’s a word which can certainly be used to describe Neon Bible, powerful. It didn’t go down as smooth as Funeral did, but after a few spins it proved it was a wonderful collection of eleven songs that deserved a listen.

Now, three and a half years later, we have The Suburbs, the bands largest album yet. It is also arguably its most reminiscent, taking the lyrical wonder and sound from Funeral and mixing it with the power and ambition of Neon Bible. Spanning over the course of sixteen songs, there’s plenty of room for Arcade Fire to move around and try new things, and they certainly deliver on this part of the bargain.

One thing that I was very glad to see, and surprised by, was the prevalence of female  backing vocals in many of the songs, provided by the lovely Régine Chassagne. They really add a new layer to the song,s and there are some lovely harmonies to be found. Win Butler returns with the usual kind of vocal delivery that we saw on Funeral and the lyrics of many of the songs have certainly returned to that semi-angst driven, coming of age kind of agenda, and personally I’m glad to have them back. I’ve always felt that they’ve added more emotion and power to the songs, but in all honesty, when stretched across sixteen songs, the lyrics can stretch thin, and at some point I feel as though they’re just trying to be personal for the sake of being personal. Win was obviously trying to tap that Funeral vibe again, and he has succeeded, but to a lesser extent.

Fortunately the dip in lyrical power is made up for by what I think is the best kind of sound Arcade Fire have achieved across all their albums. There isn’t even a large gap between the tones in all the songs. There is a perfect balance between Arcade Fire’s usual kind of slow, mournful, deeper songs and their energetic, punchy songs, and there is plenty of whatever’s in between. The instrumentalism is top notch and the production is just wonderful, distorted guitars giving their full power, both deep and shrill when need be, and most of all the beautiful violin truly soars over many tracks and seems to make it all worth-while.

Overall, The Suburbs shows that Arcade Fire have certainly realized what made them who they are, and they’ve taken that genius and applied it in new and inventive ways, and hey, what more could you ask? Sixteen tracks is certainly a stretch, but The Suburbs is a treat from start to finish, and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of their past works.