Neon Bible
by Arcade Fire

From DriftingOrpheus 03/31/2020 09:32 | #249345 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

In 2004, Canadian indie rock pioneers Arcade Fire released Funeral, an album that shook the landscape of the alternative music scene. The album was met with praise from critics and many lauded the band's lyrical and musical flexibility with ingenuity to boot. When production began on a much awaited follow up in 2006, the band affixed two more permanent members into the fold, drummer Jeremy Gara and violinist Sarah Neufeld, expanding their repertoire to an even fuller extent. What they would produce with their newfangled, richer musical density would come to be known as Neon Bible, a record that never ceases to radiate dreaminess, twinkling triumphantly with unbridled grace. More importantly, it serves as the band's most prolific artistic statement, steadfast in its shimmering brilliance.

The first landmark on the album, comes in the form of track four, Intervention. The song stresses the dangers of over-dedication, whether it be towards patriotism while unaware of the prospect of incalculable casualties or towards religious zeal which renders an individual to turn a blind eye to familial strife. Frontman Win Butler declares, "Working for the church while your family dies, you take what they give you and you keep it inside, every spark of friendship and love will die without a home, hear the soldier groan, we'll go at it alone". This coincides with sublime organ pulses that engulf the track in a haze of heavenly aura. Eighth track, (Antichrist Television Blues), finds the band at their most 'Springsteenian' as they conjure a unflinching groove while Butler's lyrics call upon an escape from a dead-end American town and ponder what the future may bring. Penultimate cut No Cars Go is a drum-powered, french influenced rallying cry against the hustle and bustle of modern society. The track swelters to a boiling point of cathartic harmonization, perfectly leading into Butler's subdued first words of My Body is a Cage. The final track illustrates Butler's crippling anxiety until the song erupts in its final moments as he claims "his mind holds the key" to breaking the spell.

Arcade Fire's seminal second LP may not garner the same indie street cred as Funeral, however, it does contain a tighter, more cohesive collection of tracks that are effortlessly dynamic, both in musicality and thematic structure. The addition of a more heavily stocked musical arsenal provided the foundation for the band to push the boundaries of their sonic experimentation. The end result is an album that is less preachy and more introspective, attaching an alluring vulnerability to artists who were extremely conscious of their musical prowess. Plainly, this is not the millenially aware Arcade Fire found on Everything Now, nor is it the Arcade Fire who were undeniably ingenious but marginally conceited on Funeral. Neon Bible features the ensemble at the peak of their powers, embedded with confidence while tastefully unguarded. This is frankly mind-blowing considering that Arcade Fire at their worst is a force to be reckoned with.

"Into the light of a bridge that burns,
As I drive from the city with the money that I earned,
Into the dark of a starless sky,
I'm staring into nothing and I'm asking you why."

-(Antichrist Television Blues)

Standout Tracks:

1. No Cars Go
2. Intervention
3. Ocean of Noise

96.3

Whilst supposedly a Top 100 album, this record is horribly, horribly underrated. This is a band that 3 years prior, released perhaps the best album of the 2000s. Neon Bible could have been a dud and we see it all too often a band not living to up to their debut (See Interpol, The Strokes, Justice). However, whilst not on the same level as Funeral, listening back I find the music on Neon Bible much more exciting and interesting than The Suburbs or Reflektor (lets forget Everything Now ever happened). A great sophomore album and perfect for those trying to get into the band as it is probably their most accessible. By the way, OCEAN OF NOISE!!

Favourite Tracks: Black Mirror, Keep The Car Running, Neon Bible, Intervention, Ocean Of Noise, (Antichrist Television Blues), Windowsill, No Cars Go

Least Favourite Tracks: The Well and The Lighthouse

90/100

From luigybetis TOP 100 COMMENTER 05/23/2016 13:29 | #166715 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This album is a masterpiece, and yeah, everybody has a different taste. But I can say in my opinion this is the best Arcade Fire album, yes, better than Funeral (That's a lot to say). I guess that's why this webpage is great, because there's a huge variety of people with different taste.

UNPOPULAR OPINION: Neon Bible is the best Arcade Fire album. (Edited)

My favourite Arcade Fire album by a distance. No weak songs. Diverse. Intriguing. Captivating. Sucks you into a little world of intrigue and angst surrownded by brilliant music throughout.