Rumor has it that Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler can cough up golden bricks. Not billion dollar golden bricks that would be fit for the Taj Mahal, but a golden brick worth, say, five thousand apiece? Let me tell you, if I could get a video of the 'Making Of...', I'd be a hero among Indie fans worldwide. Until said video comes out, my friends all around the world will have to keep listening to the latest Arcade Fire release, "Neon Bible". I'd like to start out by stating the obvious; this is the greatest album that I have heard in the 7/10ths of this decade. I wasn't particularly a fan of "Funeral" until I listened closely to the carefully orchestrated strings that flew into each song perfectly. 'Laika' and 'Rebellion (Lies)' shared a warm home in my Indie Love playlist. However, Arcade Fire's sophomore effort came out exactly how Win had imagined it, by the looks of it. The shiny, extremely reverbed production makes you feel like you're in the sky, right above an ocean of smooth, silky violins. It shows signs of a band that keeps on growing and growing. Most praise, however, is being thrown at the Texas-born (Yes, Texas) frontman. Is he the new Bob Dylan? Is he the new Phil Spector? George Martin? No, no and no. He is Win Butler, and he is the musical genius of this century.
'Intervention' is probably the fullest song that I've heard in a long time. The whining guitar, the blinking bells, and the Phantom-like organ are joined by powerful drums, strings that are even powerful, and booming vocals that are by no means technically amazing, but pull a perfect
10 on the emotional scale. From the opening of 'Black Mirror' you can already sense the 'Ocean of Noise' coming to you, but it's not until 'Keep The Car Running' begins that you can shriek "YES! YES! THIS IS GREAT!" just like I did. I don't understand how after a mere 3 years between albums, they can both sound incredible, epic, everything that "Sam's Town" wasn't. And there's more; the recording of "Neon Bible" only took a full year. Strings, Accordion, Drums, were all recorded in 365 days or less. I can picture Win going into the studio thinking, "All right, these are great songs, and they are going to sound exactly how I want them to sound". They're not over-produced, the vocals are not perfect, even the piano sounds detuned. But that's what makes the package all the more complete. Arcade Fire have produced a magical, charming sophomore effort that is replayable as 'Revolver' or 'Pet Sounds'.Final Verdict: Neon Bible is a little bit of Spector. It's a little bit of Bright Eyes. It's Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Jeff Magnum, Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke, and Brian Wilson rolled into 11 songs that never have to end, ever. Every song has a meaning, and I like to follow it as a concept album although it probably wasn't meant as one. Don't listen to all of the Funeral lovers who believe that there will never be another; it's like comparing Radiohead's OK Computer to Kid A, like comparing The Beatles' 'Revolver' to 'Abbey Road'. It just isn't fair for the artist. But Arcade Fire wouldn't care anyway; Arcade Fire knows when they've created a masterpiece. And this, my friends, is a genuine masterpiece. Like coughing up a golden brick.
Selected Tracks : No Cars Go, Keep The Car Running, Intervention
Rating: 9.8
Judgement: Buy Album [ASAP]
*Selected as a [ReptarCereal Essential]*
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