Arcade Fire in The Suburbs – Initial thoughts

I first heard about Arcade Fire’s latest release, The Suburbs via a snippet I heard on Sound Opinions Sunday night.

I’ve heard of the band, but honestly could have never told you much about them before Sunday night — other than kids seem to really dig them — and it sounded like Sound Opinions did too.

So when I Kevin Hendricks alerted me that their album was only $3.99 for download from Amazon, I grabbed it up.

And now I invite you to join me for my initial listen to the album….

The Suburbs – The title track to the album, sounds like a homage to Win Butler’s (lead singer) youth, growing up in the suburbs of the Bible Belt (The Woodlands, near Houston, Texas). Lyrically it sounds as if they’re reflecting on their youth — realizing they’ve moved beyond the nostalgia but still hoping to share those same great feelings they had about growing up with a child of their own.

So can you understand? / Why I want a daughter while I’m still young / I wanna hold her hand / And show her some beauty / Before this damage is done / But if it’s too much to ask, it’s too much to ask / Then send me a son

I’m not sure what to compare the music to — but it makes me happy. It has a 70’s orchestral pop feel to it — like something we might have exercised to in elementary school. Or something I’ll soon be cruising to with the windows down. Perhaps similar to Polyphonic Spree or ELO

Ready to Start – I love how the songs blend from one to another. The song starts off a little dark in the transition between the songs but comes in with a great rhythm that reminds me of British rockers The Kinks or Aussie rockers Jet.

And I love this lyric:

All the kids have always known / That the emperor wears no clothes / But they bow down to him anyways / It’s better than to be alone.

There seems to be a continued conflict happening in the lyrics. Perhaps continuing the teen-angst of growing up in the suburbs. Someone not willing to bow to the emperor – not willing to join in the crowd.

I would rather be wrong / Than to live in the shadows of your song

Modern Man – Bring on Rick Springfield! The Ready to Start teenager’s grown up and finding his place in line with the swarms of modern men around him — or perhaps he’s seeing his grim future living the life of the masses.

I wait in line I’m a modern man / And the people behind me can’t understand… They pulled me aside and said you’re going no where / They say we’re the chosen few / But we’re wasted / And that’s why we’re still waiting / On a number from the modern man / Maybe when you’re older you’ll understand / Why you don’t feel right / Why you can’t sleep at night

Rococo – Something about the name of this track reminds me of The Beatles Rocky Raccoon – but that’s just me… The song starts out with a great string arrangement. And lyrically continues the modern man/modern kid theme taking the voice of the elders. As Sound Opinions mentioned, you can hear a story continuing to develop around the institution of the suburbs.

Let’s go downtown and talk to the modern kids / They will eat right out of your hands / Using great big words that they don’t understand / Rococo… rococo…

Empty Room – This track starts out quick! I like contrast between the high BPM on the strings and drums and the whining guitar layered underneath. The track is the first time I notice Win Butler’s wife, Régine Chassagne on any of the tracks. And like that the song is over. It’s only 2:51 in length.

City With No Children – A slower song in contrast to Empty Room. The song begins by talking about a dream and driving home to Houston and seems to look at the emptiness of riches and living a life alone. Which seems in stark contrast to the opening track and the child who would rather be alone than to bow to the emperor — vs the millionaire who bowed to the emperor and is now living alone in a private prison.

I feel like I’ve been living in city with no children in it / A garden left for ruin by / A millionaire living inside a private prison… Do you think your righteousness could pay the interest on your debt / I have my doubts about it

Half Light I – a greyish light (as at dawn or dusk or in dim interiors). Continuing the theme, we’re all hiding behind the masks of the modern man.

Strange how the half light can make it through this room / You can recognize me / And I can recognize you / We run through these streets that we know so well / And the houses hide so much / But in the half light none of us can tell / We hide the ocean in the shell

I love the arrangement of this song, you hear the ocean crashing around you and the constant echo of the guitar.

Half Light II (No Celebration) – Even in the half light we can see that something’s got to give / When we watched the markets crash the promises we made were torn…

The celebration is over. We’re seeing the nostalgia we had of the city/suburbs is gone. We’re seeing the truth behind the picket white fences. And yet while the lyrics suggest the singer will no longer raise his voice against the modern man, the music builds and intensifies as the song carries on.

Now that you have left me here / I will never raise my voice / All the diamonds you have here / In this home which has no life / Oh this city’s changed so much since I was a little child / Pray that God won’t live to seek the death of everything that’s wild

(not totally sure about that last line)

Then the intensity drops for the singer’s reflection

Though we knew this day would come / Still it took us by surprise / In this town where I was born / I now see it through a dead man’s eyes

Suburban War – I have to love the title of this song simply because several friends and I wrote several stories growing up about Suburban Wars taking place between those of us living in Dallas — and those who had moved to the burbs.

I love the opening guitar. Reminds me of the Momas and the Papas or The Byrds.

The lyrics flash back to an earlier image — living in the shadow of others — or more specifically, the shadow of the city the singer grew up in.

Month of May – This is the hardest rock song on the album yet. The music echos of British punk/rock bands again.

It screams of a call to action against the observations from the previous tracks on the album. And it’s a great point on the album to transition to something with a driving guitar and hard hitting snare.

The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight… I know it’s heavy.. but how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?

Wasted Hours – Track 10 is when most bands wrap things up but Arcade Fire continues on with this nice airy track – almost Beach Boys-esque. I’ll need to go back and re-listen to the lyrics. I got caught up in the groove of the music. I just picture kids hanging out of bus windows flapping their arms, or teens driving around town with their convertible tops down. From the little attention I gave the lyrics, I think the song’s suggesting it’s easy to get caught up in the enjoyment of the moment — which is what I did with this song…

Wasted hours / Before we knew / Where to go and what to do? / Wasted hours that you make new / Turn into a life that we can live

Deep Blue – The hard downbeat of this song brings marching soldiers to mind. I’m flashing back to the scene in Across the Universe when Max Carrigan enlists in the army before heading off to Vietnam.

We Used to Wait – The piano comes to forefront in this song from the beginning as the other instruments layer in underneath it until the piano morphs into a dominate synthesizer during the first chorus.

Sprawl I (Flatland) – Another “sequel” on the album. The song begins as a slow ballad as a man goes driving across the Flatlands. Perhaps a man from the Flatlands weary of the impending urban sprawl.

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond) – This song starts off entirely different that it’s predecessor. A drastic change. Bring on the 80’s-girl-band-pop. The song also tops the album as it’s longest track, weighing in at 5:25. A song about getting away from the urban sprawl, with it’s giant shopping malls, in an song that reminds me of the Material Girl. Hmmmm.

The Suburbs (continued) – The final track on the album. A final though to the opening track. Looking back at the innocence lost.

If I could have it back / All the time that we wasted / I’d only waste it again / If I could have it back / I know I’d love to waste it again… Sometimes I can’t believe it / I’m moving past the feeling again…

16 tracks in all, weighing in at 63 minutes. Not a bad collection of airy songs and an almost aperfect soundtrack to a dream sequence — or cruising through your old neighborhood at the end of a long summer. The songs will likely stand well on their own but I have a feeling you’ll lose the vast feeling of this project if you remove them from their place in the album.

There’s a definite theme on the album. Reflecting about the joys of growing up in the suburbs and coming to the realization that it was all nostalgia and a lot of smoke and mirrors. The emperor may be wearing no clothes — but Arcade Fire brings an album with many layers to unravel.

I’m looking forward to hearing this album again and again and suggest you do as well.

Download the album from Amazon.com.