'Neon Bible' by The Arcade Fire
Trotter’s Top Ten position : 4 in 2007
UK Chart high : 2 in 2007
There was probably only one way to go for The Arcade Fire in terms of following up their debut and that was to 'go grander, darker and include a church organ'. Reacting to the times (towards the end of George W Bush's presidency) and perhaps to a relentless, tiring touring schedule, there's a feeling of doom and end of the world paranoia that permeates throughout 'Neon Bible', both at the global level ('Windowsill's environmental catastrophe message or 'Intervention's scathing attack on religion's role in mobilising the populace to fight their wars) and the personal (such as '(Antichrist Television Blues)' tale of a pushy parent wishing talent show stardom on their kids to plug a gap in their empty life). All of that doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs and, well, it isn't, but it does make for a moody, thought provoking record. Some AF staples are still there - the dramatic key changes and elegaic 'everything plus the kitchen sink' crescendos - though the gloom does mean it's not an album I've returned to that frequently. Indeed their recent, brilliant headlining slot at Glastonbury saw them only play three of the tracks from here (those linked to below) perhaps because the atmosphere they created on this record was so effective that it's tricky to fit any more into the rest of their otherwise upbeat set. That said, it certainly was amongst my most anticipated albums of the decade and so I suppose was always going to fall a tad short of my incredibly high expectations. They also sail a bit too close to mimicry when it comes to their Springsteen influences for my liking (The Boss appearing onstage with them whilst on tour to play 'Keep the Car Running'). Oh, and ITV used 'Black Mirror' to advertise Midsomer Murders bizarrely - though I guess it's when a track is used to advertise Bergerac that they really have to start worrying. Seriously though, in terms of creating a body of work that evokes such a powerful atmosphere (and which ironically puts church organs to effective use whilst decrying the downside of organised religions) this album is second to none. However, they didn't make any videos for this record and also don't seem to have allowed Spotify to host any of their music so we'll just have to make do with a few live performances (which for them is no bad thing) and a bit of Spotify-related radio silence!
Look at Keep the Car Running ; No Cars Go ; Intervention
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version
No comments:
Post a Comment