track by track: NEON BIBLE - arcade fire

arcade fire, neon bible

i like it when really popular indie bands make albums that likely will alienate a good half of their fan base. neon bible is one of those albums. there aren't any real catchy pop-like tracks, except for "no cars go," which is a re-recording of a smokin track on their first ep. in fact, a lot of the tracks sound like funeral songs. take, for example:

1. "black mirror," which is a slower, stripped down version of "laika" (maybe). no melody, just a two chord piano/drum backbeat with a few tangents and a bridge with strings. nice.

2. "keep the car running" begins with strings and mandolin and half-beat snare hits to a 1-4-5 rhythm. another simple, unpretentious, r.e.m. sounding track.

3. "neon bible": and this is the track where lipstick-armchair fans give up. win mumbles. no real structure on the two-minute track. "no real chance for survival" is right.

4. "intervention": begins with pedal organ. epic ballad on hypocrisy, communal failure of the church. very beautiful, and what i like most is how his lyrics avoid the obvious, cheap-shot condemnations--and that the song isn't narrative. and who knows whether it's autobiographical, unlike the new of montreal songs.

5. "black wave/bad vibrations": regine sings this song in french and english. dissonant synths. if you ask, i'll translate. but not now cos i'm lazy.

6. "ocean of noise": another soft ballad, this time about reconciliation, and this time with a lovely piano and horn outro. very nice.

7. "the well and the lighthouse": now, this is a cool track. and the chorus is only "in my head," which is the lead in--the actual chorus is just high pitched synths over a continuation of the verse guitar/drum backbeat. i'm digging the lack of verse/chorus structure on this album. i'm not so hot on the waltzy outro, but it's catchy.

8. "(antichrist television blues)": a bluesy, 1-4-5, five-minute song. very unpretentious. that said, i don't really dig it.

9."windowsill": another 1-4-5 in a minor key. starts tired but when the entire band comes in the song gets epic and i dig it.

10. "no cars go": better than the original ep recording. i'll leave this a surprise.

11."my body is a cage": "my body is a cage that keeps me from dancing with the one i love. and my mind holds the key," win sings over the organ. again. a downer last song for a downer album.

generally speaking, after about four listens, i'm not totally on board with this release. while i like the mellow vibe and good musicianship, a lot of the songs feel tired and, forbid, even trite. on the bright side, it's a chill listen, if a bit too serious. the album comes out on march 6.