'The Suburbs' finally get exciting

If there is one thing I learned over summer vacation, it is that pop is in.

During the past three months of sunshine and carefree living, the music industry has    witnessed the success of a number of new pop icons like Ke$ha and the ever-popular Justin    Bieber. Furthermore, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have dominated just about every FM radio station on the planet. But, if you’re like me and you’re not into overplayed drivel that screams “no taste!”, then perhaps you would be interested in checking out the sweet, melodic tunes of Arcade Fire’s new album, The Suburbs.

In case you missed it, The Suburbs was released earlier this month on August 2. The third studio album from the Canadian indie-rock band was inspired by members Win and William Butler’s upbringing in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Since its release, the album has received a number of positive reviews and has debuted at number one on several different album charts including the Billboard 200.

In terms of overall sound, The Suburbs is similar to the band’s two previous albums, Funeral and Neon Bible. But although it has much of the same finesse, this new album has a unique sound that could be described as a cross between electric and folk, a combination that I guarantee will leave you begging for more. Lead vocalist and songwriter Win Butler described the sound as “a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young.” Butler also explained that he wanted the album to sound like “the bands that (he) heard when (he) was very young, and wondered what those crazy noises were.”

Mike Diver, an album critic for the BBC, said that “The Suburbs is [Arcade Fire’s] most thrillingly engrossing chapter yet; a complex, captivating work that, several cycles down the line, retains the magic and mystery of that first tentative encounter.”  

What I like so much about Arcade Fire is that all of the band’s albums shine a light on the state of our current society. Whereas Neon Bible was full of bitter lyrics that criticized the corruption of our political and religious figures, The Suburbs takes a look at American suburbia, our changing times, and the typical modern man who slaves away trying to make ends meet. The album naturally possesses a remarkable sense of nostalgia. Music critic Ian Cohen touches upon that aspect in his review of the album on Pitchfork.com, explaining that the bulk of the album focuses on “the pain of wasting your time as an adult by romanticizing the wasted time of your youth.”

The second song on the album, which is also my personal favorite, entitled “Ready to Start” does a great job at capturing that very sense of despair and the idea that the modern man has sold his soul to the business world in an attempt to make a living. The song begins with the lyrics “Businessmen drink my blood, like the kids in art school said they would.” 

Although the lyrical content is not necessarily the lightest, the style of the music and the overall sound of Arcade Fire’s new album is out of this world. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to The Suburbs, I would highly recommend giving it a listen. The album is available on iTunes and I’m telling you— it’s damn good.