As such, it could strike some listeners as a disappointing follow-up, but the record's mix of newfound discipline and passion will likely imbue it with a long shelf-life.
On most songs, the Arcade Fire achieve a headlong forward motion, bolstered by immense church organs and Calexico horns that underscore the angst of Butler's bitter, accusatory lyrics. If she once sounded studied or mannered, here her angelic soprano projects a tentative hopefulness, making her a capable foil for Win Butler's tense performance. Her contributions to " Antichrist Television Blues " and "Black Wave" sound like the vocal equivalent of her soaring string arrangements, co-written with Owen Pallet of Final Fantasy.
These changes aren't drastic, but they are significant, especially as they reveal new and interesting touchstones for the band's aesthetic. The influences most commonly associated with Funeral were Davids Byrne and Bowie, but on Neon Bible , it's Bruce Springsteen who appears not only in the wordy songs and aggressive shuffle, but in the compression of so many styles and sounds into one messy, exciting burst.
The band never compartmentalizes these styles or consigns them to separate songs, but allows them to blend freely. Although they've expanded their sound, the Arcade Fire's transition into extroversion isn't always smooth or graceful.
Neon Bible is full of clunky lyrics, revealing Butler's tendency to overstate and sensationalize. His rhyme schemes are sometimes too deliberate and set-- and no one should be allowed to use the sort of faux-antiquated sentence construction that pops up in lines like "I fell into the water black.
Like many indie artists, the Arcade Fire work best in the album format, and Neon Bible runs on a different-- and in some ways more finely tuned-- mechanical system than its predecessor. It's a shapely work, gracefully building to fall away to build again, as the band sustains a mood that's both ominous and exhilarating. Even "No Cars Go", which originally appeared on their self-titled debut EP, sounds more powerful here than it did in its previous incarnation.
As stand-alone tracks, these songs don't make as much sense, which partly explains why those early leaks were so uninspiring. The danger here is inaccessibility: There's only one natural entry point to Neon Bible , and it's "Black Mirror".
Everything afterwards flows seamlessly from that song's low rumble and startling imagery-- until the final track. Rebellion Lies — In the Backseat — Neon Bible , Merge Rec. Black Mirror — Keep The Car Running — Neon Bible — Intervention — Ocean Of Noise — The Well And The Lighthouse — Antichrist Television Blues — Windowsill — No Cars Go — My Body Is A Cage — The Suburbs , Merge Rec.
The Suburbs — Ready to Start — Modern Man — Rococo — Empty Room — City With No Children — Half Light I — Suburban War — Month of May — Wasted Hours — Deep Blue — We Used to Wait — Sprawl I Flatland — The Suburbs continued — CD 1: Reflektor — We Exist — Flashbulb Eyes — Here Comes The Night Time — Normal Person —
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