Friday, December 31, 2010

Top 10 Albums of 2010 - #6 The Suburbs by Arcade Fire


What do I know about Arcade Fire? They’re from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They consist of a husband and wife duo (Win Butler and Regine Chassagne) along with five other members. And their song “Wake Up” was featured on the “Where the Wild Things Are” trailer (which was the most adult, kids-movie I’ve seen in a while, I might add. “Adult” in terms of theme and profundity). Before aforesaid trailer, I hadn’t knowingly heard a song by Arcade Fire. I downloaded “Wake Up” and listened to it many times. I loved its progression. It was like several songs in one. Just when you think you know what it’s up to, it changes course. When one of my art students burned me a copy of Arcade Fire’s 2010 release, “The Suburbs”, and told me I had to check it out, I didn’t know what to expect. Having only heard “Wake Up”, I had no clear conception of Arcade Fire’s “sound”. After having listened to “The Suburbs” several times now, I still don’t have a clear concept of the band’s “sound” (if, in fact, they have one).

In part, this is what makes “The Suburbs” so enjoyable: there are so many sounds. Perhaps this is the result of seven band members contributing to the album. Or a wild instrumentation that includes a glockenspiel, French horn, accordion and hurdy-gurdy. A couple tracks sound like they came out of the 80s. Whatever the cause, the effect is an expansive album that ascends on many levels. Even after several listens, I haven’t wrapped my head around this album – which in this case, is a good thing, because it is so enjoyable to play. It surprised me that an entire LP would be as diverse and unique as the first song I heard by them. Even amongst this list, “The Suburbs” is an idiosyncratic album. It entices repetition by its assortment of diverting and wonderful melodies.

2 comments:

Katie said...

Nice, Kyle! I confess, I still need to give this album some more listens to appreciate it, I think, but I definitely think it's one that has the potential to grow on me.

Katie said...

Nice, Kyle! I confess, I still need to give this album some more listens to appreciate it, I think, but I definitely think it's one that has the potential to grow on me.