Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

[Macwich]

from wikipedia:

The Suburbs

Studio album by Arcade Fire

Released August 2, 2010

Recorded 2008–2010 in Montreal and New York

Genre Indie rock

Length 63:51

Label Merge

Producer Markus Dravs, Arcade Fire

(2010)

Singles from The Suburbs

1. "The Suburbs / Month of May"

Released: June 1, 2010

The Suburbs is the upcoming third album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. The album was announced May 27, 2010, and is scheduled for release on August 2 in the United Kingdom and August 3, 2010 in North America.Coinciding with the announcement the band released a limited edition 12-inch single containing two tracks from the album, "The Suburbs" and "Month of May".

Background

Band members Win and William Butler discussed the album in an interview with National Public Radio on May 27. The album, which will be released by Merge Records, was recorded in Win Butler and Régine Chassagne's residence in Montreal, in the band's recording studio in Quebec, and in New York City. The Butlers indicate that the album's title and songwriting were inspired by their upbringing in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Win has also admitted that The Suburbs will sound like "a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young." There will be eight alternative covers for the album.

Track listing:

All songs written and composed by Arcade Fire.

No. Title Length

1. "The Suburbs" 5:15

2. "Ready to Start" 4:15

3. "Modern Man" 4:40

4. "Rococo" 3:57

5. "Empty Room" 2:52

6. "City with No Children" 3:11

7. "Half Light I" 4:14

8. "Half Light II (No Celebration)" 4:27

9. "Suburban War" 4:41

10. "Month of May" 3:50

11. "Wasted Hours" 3:21

12. "Deep Blue" 4:28

13. "We Used to Wait" 5:01

14. "Sprawl I (Flatland)" 2:51

15. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" 5:18

16. "The Suburbs (Continued)" 1:27

Apparently the current version out there is a transcode. I'm gonna listen anyways while I run with shitty headphones. I will report back.

I won't post a link cause of the recent reminder about those, so go ahead and poison me

[eat skull]

Dude this album is so fucking good. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about it.

[matthewjacob]

I have been enjoying this for the last few days. I really like how this band is progressing from album to album. I thought it was interesting that they transfered each song to a 12" vinyl and then rerecorded that to be digitized so that the CD and LP would sound the same. (more info on the arcadefire site)

I think the transition from Modern Man to Rococo is great.

[octo]

My neighbour mixed this album, he said that he mixed most of it at like 4 am when he was super tired and that he thought it was shitty but when he showed the band they loved it.

[fatshakes]

is this more akin to funeral or neon bible? While I think Funeral is one of those albums damn near perfect front to back, Neon Bible was a little tired to me.

[Leeacto]

I think it's more akni to Funeral, but it's not as dark and droning as it. I liked both of their first albums quite a bit (Funeral much more), so I'd put this in 2nd place. the topics are a bit lighter, but still a good album. I've only listened through once. I'll have to go a few more times to get a good feeling on it, though.

[Before the Dawn]

I hope this is good. Music has really been sucking it up the past 2-3 years. I haven't really heard anything that took me back since the Fleet Foxes record. And Sir Lucious Left Foot...

[Macwich]

the album is very mature. dont get me wrong, it doesn't fall into adult contemporary or dad rock, but it is a bit more reserved compared to previous albums. i think they could have taken more risks; look at the piano riff in We Used to Wait, it's aggressive as fuck, but it ends up working.

btw here's an updated tracklisting:

1. The Suburbs

2. Ready to Start

3. Modern Man

4. Rococo

5. Empty Room

6. City with No Children

7. Half Light I

8. Half Light II (No Celebration)

9. Month of May

10. Wasted Hours

11. Deep Blue

12. We Used to Wait

13. Sprawl I (Flatland)

14. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

15. Suburban War

16. The Suburbs (Continued)

Suburban War has moved from 9 to 15, which i think makes the album more cohesive. it works as a recap of the theme, and flows better into the continued title track than sprawl 2

speaking of that track, ill have to agree with what seems to be the majority and say that the synth is a welcome addition. its another of the few examples of arcade fire taking a risk on this album, and again it works

favorites are sprawl II, modern man, ready to start, rococo

lots of people seem to like City With No Children, but i haven't gotten into it yet. seems much too simple to be on the record. by that i mean there just isn't enough layers to it. sounds like a b-side (i know im gonna catch flack for this)

overall a solid album. i won't rank it, but i will say that i was one of the few who really loved neon bible, so it would be hard to top that for me. of course funeral takes number one tho

7.5/10

[capa]

It's good. Modern Man and Sprawl II are my favorites.

[julianREE]

why is there a separate topic for this? this issue must be addressed.

[Macwich]

^^i figured there would be quite a few people talking about it on this forum; it's easier to have it all in one thread