The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
2010
Album Summary
The Suburbs is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on August 2, 2010. Coinciding with its announcement, the band released a limited edition 12-inch single containing the title track and "Month of May". The album debuted at No. 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200 chart, and the Canadian Albums Chart. It won Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards, Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards, Album of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards, and the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album. Two weeks after winning Grammy's Album of the Year, the album jumped from No. 52 to No. 12 on the Billboard 200, the album's highest ranking since August 2010.Arcade Fire released a deluxe edition CD/DVD of The Suburbs on June 27, 2011 (everywhere except the U.S. and Canada). The American and Canadian versions were released on August 2, 2011, to coincide with the original album's anniversary. The new version included two brand new tracks recorded during The Suburbs album sessions ("Culture War" and "Speaking in Tongues", the latter featuring David Byrne), an extended version of album track "Wasted Hours", Spike Jonze's short film, Scenes from the Suburbs, and an 80-page booklet as well as other exclusive content.
Wikipediasecond album by this band on this... and i can safely say that they're fucking boring. just meandering, meaningless shit. it just doesn't end, but it also never goes anywhere. what a load of crap. fuck off. 1/5.
An emotionally dense concept album that threatens to collapse under the weight of its own ambition - the mid section of the album drags a little - but there’s no denying the quality of the anthems in this work. At its peak it’s absolutely stunning.
This album is a masterpiece in my opinion. I ruddy love it. It gives me a very specific feeling when I listen to it and I feel like I have this exact picture of the whole album as a concept. Might be a load of rubbish though. Sprawl II is my favourite Arcade Fire song.
Definitely a fave. So many great tracks, this album makes me feel lots of things
Was underwhelmed the first time I listened to it, but it has eventually become my favorite Arcade Fire album
uh, WOW. this has got to be one of my favorites so far. i can tell that repeated listenings can only enhance my enjoyment of this album, and i am going to listen to other music by arcade fire, too. this is definitely an album to be enjoyed fully. the singles are definitely good and stand out, but the album was created to listened to as it is. the variety of instruments and sounds! the flare from the classical music influence, the different impact coming from two vocalists, it's all wonderful.
I still remember when this album came out, how much noise it made in the indie rock community, and the major stir it caused in the mainstream community by winning a Best Album Grammy. Back in 2010 when I listened to this, I didn't appreciate this album, nor understand the hype around it, so I was excited to listen again all these years later with ears that have expanded and developed their tastes. This time around, I enjoyed the album a lot more. This is yet another album that is best enjoyed as an album, and not as singles. It makes good use of storytelling and the songs have good ups and downs and mixed tempos to keep things from feeling stale. This time around, I'm happy to say this album resonated with me and is exactly what I have come to enjoy about indie rock.
There was a brief period from like 2008-2012 when literally all music sounded like this. And I'm totally a sucker for it.
I didn't know this singer. No bad but it's the kind of music I don't heard.
Are you fucking kidding me? Arcade Fire is boring garbage. I'm so sick of getting generated two star albums.
Arcade Fire perfectly encapsulates an aesthetic of the suburban dread that most modern Americans experience. Not only that, but sonically they found a sound that uniquely identifies them as major players in the 2010s indie rock scene two albums after their first.
Well, what a JOY that was. Really loved it. Arcade Fire are such a brilliant band. Weirdly one song went a bit ABBA at one point I thought, but I liked that about it. Such epic optimistic music - always puts you in a good mood. would love to see them like at some point
Love Arcade Fire. Their 4 album run from Funeral - Reflektor includes some of my most formative music. When this album came out I think I likely ranked it 4th out of those 4 album (Funeral #1, Neon Bible #2, Reflecktor #3) but it seemed much stronger on this listen. Made me very nostalgic for guitar driven indie rock. Ready to Start is the clear highlight, but all of the first 3 songs are bangers. 4.5/5
Remember being a kid in the summer of year two thousand something? That's what this album sounds like
I’ll never forget how baffled my famil was when this won album of the year
Much maligned due to its predecessors. I still love it. Really stands up. Less bangers and more a feeling!
El Hadra El 5amsa Me Rbo3 Etheleth Is Done. Good Days When It Comes To Work, It Just Started Paying. Thank You Lord
This is not Arcade Fire's best album, but it is their most focused and complete. Nothing quite captures the despairing ennui of suburban life quite like The Suburbs. It's critical, of course - "dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains" isn't the most singable line, but they make it sound sickly sweet - but there are also touches of nostalgia (We Used to Wait and Rococo) to balance out the despair (City with No Children. among others) and outright panic (Month of May). It's a successful concept album that's more than the sum of its parts, but the parts are damn good to start with. Best track: Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
28th March 2022 Listened throughout the day working in the front room. Went to the cinema for screen unseen which turned out to be the novice. Jen hated it. What a record. Big, intimate, sprawling look at small town life. Arcade arguably at the peak of their powers.
5* One of the best albums of the 2000's. The deceptive easiness of the songs will give up their depth after a few listens. City With No Children is a truly amazing song
A seemingly post-apocalyptic look at my own childhood in a Texas suburb. Post-rock in places, indie-rock in others. 6/5 stars for this one. This album made me miss a place that I had forgotten that I forgot.
I, too, hate suburban sprawl and the lack of identity that capitalism ingrains into every aspect of our culture.
Probably my favourite of their albums. They performed it brilliantly live. SHACK'S wet dream....but with fewer kids obviously. ...the big silly nonce.
Don't play with fire or like me you could end up with a disgustingly disfigured penis. It's like a half melted candle. But not a thick one, a weedy kids' birthday cake one. Children are still allowed to blow on it and make a wish if they like.
Man this was a ride listening to today. This album came out when I was finishing university and had no idea what to do next with my life. I was in that period where I was working full time and moving up at work, but still had so much free time and was still hanging around my hometown. I picked it up again in 2011 after they won the Grammy, and I was travelling around the country for work. My interpretation of The Suburbs is all about nostalgia trying to get back home. I think this was my most played album of theirs and I could likely recite every word from it. Now more than 10 years later I come to this album happily married, with a mortgage living in the suburbs with a cat and a job I’ve been at for 6 years. Then I had shaggy hair, now I’m contemplating shaving off what hair I have left. The nostalgia is so potent for that period in my life right before I became a real adult but more importantly before I had any real responsibilities. The Suburbs is looking back even further than the era I’m nostalgic for; before cell phones and the internet. When communication mead weight even when it’s inane. When we went on adventures and explored our surroundings. Had stupid conversations and acted smarter than we were. Is this their best album? Funeral I can’t get through without tearing up. Reflector is real messy but has I think their strongest songs. The Suburbs though does the best job of creating a mood and tapping into a feeling. I think with the benefit of hindsight I think the argument could be made this is the definitive Millennial rock album. Like Nevermind for Gen X or Sour by Olivia Rodrigo will be for Gen Z. It’s so of it’s time and has only grown in power in the decade since.
I honestly don't know how they captured the feeling of drinking a cold Fanta while watching the sunset during the first day of summer break in musical form, but they did. I'm a sucker for this kind of "sad nostalgia". Sure worked on me, and I'm not even from the suburbs.
Love this record. Start to finish it is great. Favorite son is Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). Reminds me of growing up and nails the aprehension I feel for my children's future. It's nostalgia and dread all at once but in the best way. Technology and development are changing the world from what we grew up in to an uncertain future and no assurances of our place in it.
I distinctly remember disliking this at the time, but I have no idea what was wrong with me, it's a masterpiece. Epic soundscape, full of emotion, builds through the whole thing. What a fool I was to have missed out on this for so long!
This is one of my favorite albums ever. I used to hate it when it first came out. Compared to Neon Bible and Funeral, I thought it was boring and overly long. But it really grew on me and now it's one of my favorites. The opening run of songs is fantastic and Sprawl II is in the top 5 Arcade Fire songs of all time.
I think Arcade Fire's "Funeral" is one of the best debut albums of the 2000s. And of course, it is notoriously hard for bands to deliver lauded follow-ups to much-buzzed-about debuts. Arcade Fire came close to dispelling the curse of the sophomore slump with "Neon Bible." In fact, in terms of sales and acclaim, there was no dip. But "Funeral" was almost impossible to follow. "Neon Bible" still has an amazing start with "Black Mirror" and "Keep the Car Running," and "No Cars Go" is also terrific, but nothing in between really stands out in the way that "Funeral" was consistently terrific throughout. Their third album, "The Suburbs," solidified Arcade Fire as one of the best of their era. Like "Neon Bible" and to some extent "Funeral," "The Suburbs" is not quite a concept album - maybe a thematic album? I'm not sure I know of any band that built three straight albums around interesting conceptual themes the way Arcade Fire did. I don't really know how to describe Arcade Fire's music or what I like about it so much. It's evocative? Lyrically beautiful? Passionate and intense without being loud and brash? They weave together many different instruments without anything ever seeming out of place. They use a secondary lead singer with a very different voice and style sparingly and almost always in ways and places that fit the progression of the album. They seem to deeply mean and feel their music. Does any of this make sense? As a full album, I think I've listened to "Funeral" and "The Suburbs" more than any other album released this century? "Reflektor" (#4) and "Everything Now" (#5) didn't quite hit the same for me, and I've only listened to the whole thing a couple times each. But maybe I should give them another chance as I listen to "Funeral" and "The Suburbs" and recall how wonderful they are? Their newest, "WE," I have not listened to in full yet. From what I've heard, it may be more uneven, with highs ("Unconditional (Lookout Kid)" is fantastic) and lows ("Age of Anxiety II (Rabbit Hole)" is kind of insufferable). Has Arcade Fire's output faded over time? Is it impossible to maintain the kind of consistency they had early in their career? Regardless, with three standout albums and great songs sprinkled through three more, they earned a place as one of the best bands of the 21st century.
This is a fabulous album. The driving beats and the excellent guitar work perfectly tuned to the vocals all combine for an absolute smash. Something about this music makes me feel comfortable and at home in my skin. I'm so psyched to go see two nights of AF later this year!
This is such a great record and easily my favourite from Arcade Fire. It's lyrically very tight and works great as a front to back album. It potrays the feeling of being stuck in the suburban sprawl and yearning to escape and be something greater but still loving home anyway because it's what you know. Musically it's energetic and danceable and the production is very clear. They really nail the Arcade Fire formula here with great tension building and larger than life moments. Easy 5 for me.
I had somehow managed to never listen to an Arcade Fire song, so this was a great introduction. I really adored the color and arrpeggiation of the chords and the interweaving of various instruments and styles. The reviews really hype up the lyrics so I'll have to listen again in order to grasp them. The mixing initially bothered me, but my ears got used to it. It was just challenging to have the guitars louder than the vocals.
Ved gjenlytt blir det klart at dette er ett av mine absolutte favorittalbum: det er lyden av sensommer og brytningstid. Tror dette vil stå seg som et såkalt «viktig» album pga. både tematikk («tidsånden») og estetikk (lyden av indierock på 2000-tallet). Klassiker!
Really enjoyed this one. The band seems able to write so many catchy hooks and well crafted songs
This is a near perfect album for me. They haven't released anything before or since that I have liked but this one really gives me the feels. You can feel the city hollowing out, sucked in by the vacuousness of the suburbs. I was surprised it is an hour long because it has always felt fairly concise - a mark of exceptionally well crafted songs with something to say.
Mi disco favorito de AF, muy nostálgico para mí y uno que considero de los mejores de la década pasada y de lo que llevamos del siglo,
Literal es el álbum de Arcade Fire que tiene más scrobbles en mi last.fm 9/10
Incredible album from an incredible band. The lyrics, production and instrumentals are wonderful. Admittedly I'm already a huge fan, but I feel like anyone can listen and enjoy this album. It's really disappointing what they released after this album, nothing hit me quite as hard as the first three albums. Hard to believe this was released 12 years ago.
The question is not whether this is worthy of a 5. It is. The only debate is whether it is their greatest album. It is pretty much flawless it is the rare combination of concept album and great music. Saw them recently as they kicked off a world tour. This record still underpins their set list
This album does many things right, but I must highlight the brilliant use of strings on many songs, that wasn't something I expected!
Damn okday the title track is a strong start. Rococo has this big booming stadium sound. and then into Empty Room! what a banger! Sprawl I and II are also great. This album is fabulous, I need to relisten to get a full sounding of it.
Arcade Fire are titans of the indie rock genre and this album really showcases that. Probably the last time I came close to giving a shit about the Grammys too.
Such an amazing and personally important album for me. In 2010 when it came out, we were still in deep recession, I had a one year old son (but if it's too much to ask, send me a son), and I was experiencing parenting in a hyper-vigilant culture in a big city in an underwater house. This album powerfully described all of the above, pulling me into lyrics thick with nostalgia for my feral 1980s childhood "screaming and running through the yard." Of course the suburbs of my childhood had problems too, and this album doesn't shy away from them. The truly poetic lyrics plus driving guitar-heavy rock interspersed with moments of soft pathos and amazing catchy melodies- this album is so freaking addictive. Since getting it as my album I haven't wanted to hear anything else. It ends with this piece of pure poetry and philosophy: If I could have it back, All that time that we wasted, I'd only waste it again. If I could have it back, You know I'd love to waste it again and again and again.
My favourite Arcade Fire album which is a big deal considering their discography. Fantastic
I love this album. Following OK Computer? Wake me up, I think I’m in Heaven!
It goes on and on, but captures that weird mixture of persistent drive and ennui. Beautiful in its own way.
a HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL ALBUM ABOUT LIFE IN THE SUBURBS, AND THE SUBURBS IN LIFE. i ACCIDENTALLY HAD CAPS ON, IM NOT EDITING MY REVIEW.
LEMBRO QUE EU DANCEI ESSA MÚSICA COM UM CAPACETE NA CABEÇA TERCEIRA MÚSICA AINDA MEXE COMIGO
I feel like I've already rated this 🤔 Anyway, it's lovely, takes me back to 2010
One of my favorite records of all time. Front to back, it is a classic. A characteristic of a great band is that they can write, record and perform quality songs in any style and no one is thinking, gee that was an odd departure from what this group is supposed to be playing. Zeppelin is possibly one of the best examples of that. Rock, metal, blues, folk, reggae, soul, anthems, ballads. No one seems to say, how does a band which authored Black Dog also put their names to Battle of Evermore, or Down By the Seaside, or D'yer Mak'er, or Since I've Been Loving You, or No Quarter - isn't it against the rules to be all over the map musically? Bands should stay within their lane and commit to a proven style and not confuse their audiences, right? Arcade Fire is one of those artists, like Prince, Beck, Bjork and the Beastie Boys who have thrown the rules out the window and who have writen and recorded whatever they wanted to express in whichever styles it has manifested itself as true creative forces. And particularly on this brilliant masterpiece. An unpredictable and satisfying rollercoaster, jumping from Ready to Start to City With No Children to the epic Suburban War (with hints of Springsteen) to the explosive Month of May ("how you gonna lift it with your arms.. folded.. tight..." Brilliant!) to the gem that is We Used to Wait. And seeing them live, I can say the tracks on this record translate solidly in the confines of places like Madison Square Garden, a true crucible for artists to prove the mettle of their songs. A perfect record.
Sometimes I'm hit and miss on Arcade Fire. This album was a big ol' hit.
I've always been more partial to 'Funeral', but a few additional listens to this album has convinced me that it's largely on par. This is a fantastic collection of beautifully composed and incredibly varied songs, with each track contributing something to the overall whole and being worth a listen. I was also a huge fan of Regine Chassagne's more prominent role as far as vocals go, with her striking and airy tone enhancing so many of these songs, including the album's arguable highlight, 'Sprawl II'.
I really wanted to dunk on this album. Arcade Fire's latest albums have lost what made this band so special but hot damn The Suburbs absolutely brings it. No skips, great album apparently 19 year old me wasn't totally off base.
Great album. I’ve had it on reps since I saw the band in Boston in November. Before that I knew of them, but didn’t really know them. Now I listen to them all the time. 5/5 95/100
Ja erg goed album. Muzikaal waarschijnlijk beter dan Funeral, maar toch geniet ik daar iets meer van.
Another soft spot, first album I ever heard from them. Made sure to listen to the Deluxe version for the ultimate experience.
The transition from The Suburbs to Ready To Start had me sold from the beginning.
Every song lands an emotional hit. It doesn’t shred but the instrumentation is great.
reminds me of summer time, old pets, of lighting fireworks in the streets with neighborhood friends as a kid. feelings you can't fully understand til you're old. relationships you thought would last forever. you remember fondly that we're definitely flawed but you sort of wish you could get back. something about this album evokes such a raw emotional yearning and nostalgia and brings me back to those days.
I’ve been a huge fan of this album since it was released. It’s filled with great hooks that are twisted just enough to make this really unique yet still accessible. A not quite despairing but still somewhat futile paean to the suburbs.