DJ Sub Par Says:
For many fans, will Arcade Fire ever make an album better than "Funeral"? Probably not. The alchemy of new but approachable sound, emotional but not sentimental is rare. So lets move on. "The Suburbs" is thematically and aesthetically as you'd expect it - filled with mid-tempo strummers about growing up and raising families. My favorite tracks get lost in the mix - "Rococo," where Win Butler seems to be joshing us, and the clap-along "City with no Children." But perhaps these were just the first to perk my ears with their hooky choruses. People may say this album is a little overlong and same-y, but on an album where there are two songs called "Sprawl" I suppose ambling might be the intention.
DJ Responsible Says:
I got a little nervous thirty seconds into The Suburbs. I was listening to a song called "The Suburbs," looking over song titles like "Wasted Hours," "Suburban War" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," and thinking that this acoustic guitar sounds a little too polished. I mean, do we really need another meddling reflection on middle class ennui?
The Suburbs, despite its thematic familiarity, is so expertly crafted and finely written that it pushes this band's already fascinating musical arc. There's a reason Arcade Fire are the perpetual punching bag for indie-haters (well, two): they're popular, but more importantly, they make epic, envy-inducing albums that leave outsiders looking in. For example, The Suburbs manages to mesh the Breakfast Club sentiment of "Suburban War" ("And now the music divides us into tribes/You grew your hair so I grew mine") with the pummeling faux-angst of "Ready to Start" and the glimmering "Sprawl II" (note to Arcade Fire: release an entire EP of this new sound, please!). If you're too cool for The Suburbs, I can see why you might be envious.
Essential Tracks:
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