Here is a preamble: The Arcade Fire is by far my favorite band of the 21st century. Their 2004 debut Funeral changed my life, and as a Montrealer, I have watched the band garner international success and their side projects, Final Fantasy and La Bell Orchestre, grow up with them. That being said, Funeral is probably one of the hardest acts to follow - three years later it's debut hype is still justified. And while The Arcade Fire isn't the first band to face the prospect of the sophomore-slump, people expect a lot from Neon Bible.
Neon Bible is dark, apocalyptic and politically-charged. It maintains the religious undertones of Funeral, but instead of the whimsical, innocent flipside of Funeral, there is just more doom. Though it may seem like darkness is shtick to The Arcade Fire, each song on Neon Bible spews genuine negativity. The first track, entitled "Black Mirror," sets the tone: "I know a time is coming /All words will lose their meaning," reinforced by the title track: "Not much chance for survival / If the neon bible is right." The fourth track, "Intervention," is virulently anti-war and fatalistic.
Like Funeral, Neon Bible maintains The Arcade Fire's gospel-like choruses, harps and myriad of instruments. One highlight is the last track, "My Body is a Cage," which begins with simple, Jack White-like blues, and explodes into powerful religious harmonies and organ-playing, emphasized by the lyrics, "Set my spirit free." Their fifth track, "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations," gives lead vocalist Win Butler's wife, R‚gine Chassagne, a Blondie-esque sound, showing some experimentation. But the change of tempo and singer towards the end is indeed similar to the style of their 2005 hit "Une Ann‚e Sans LumiŠre."
Okay, so Neon Bible is not as easily adored as Funeral. But that does not mean it is any less beautiful. Their sophomore album has the capacity to overwhelm just as their debut did, it simply requires a bit more effort. And for fans, it is definitely worth the effort.
