 "Photo:")
If their latest album is a Neon Bible, then Arcade Fire is an electric messiah. Fans and critics have been waiting on the edge of their seats to see if a sophomore release could compare to 2004's Funeral. The debut album had impossibly huge success that seemed too magnificent to match. That is, until singer Win Butler and company rented a small church in Montreal and turned it into a recording studio.
A holy presence makes its way through the 11 finely tuned songs on Neon Bible that will resurrect impatient and skeptical listeners. "Black Mirror" opens the album, reuniting our ears with the familiar whimper of Butler's voice accompanied by an awe-inspiring string section. Bible alludes to religion, church or God-fear in surprising ways throughout every track.
Butler, who was a Biblical scholar before he was an Arcade Fire frontman, reaches deeper and gets considerably more personal on the new album. Neon Bible also employs a poetic use of strings, organ, accordion and most notably the glockenspiel during songs like "No Cars Go" and "Windowsill." Though Funeral was loaded with a similar mastery of instruments and overall catchiness, it failed to connect with its listeners on the contemplative level found on Bible.
"My Body is a Cage" concludes the album with stained-glass earfuls of church organs and lyrics pleading for freedom from worldly constraints. The song builds into an anthem of conviction and desperation that will have indie rockers lining up at cathedral doors ready for repentance. Neon Bible is the worthy second coming of Arcade Fire we've been faithfully waiting for.
Be the first to comment on this article!