The Suburbs

Arcade Fire is the type of band that I don't mind if their music comes up in a playlist but I won't go out of my way to listen to them.

decent and interesting pop. Varied songs. A mix of U2 and others pseudo punk

This was a great one to see on this list. Always happy for a 2010 or later album. While I'm not a big Arcade Fire guy, I'm glad this one is on here and I kept a song to remember it by, Sprawl II.

Not my favorite; not bad, might need another listen.

Strong start, felt like second half was weaker. 3.5

Prototype of this genre, but feels dated now.

Really dislike this band…. I mean, I hate them. Pretentious “art” drivel. That said: this album has maybe 3 or 4 songs that are listenable.

The album is very non-imposing. okay to have on in the background but didn’t hold my attention.

Some days I'm just not in the mood for that day's album. Today was one of those days. I'm sure it's good, but I just couldn't connect with it. I really like Funeral, but this one isn't nearly as inventive. That's all I got. Three Arcade albums on this list is two too many. And I know that's not Arcade Fire's fault, but c'est la guerre. That's French for "My god, this singer is boring me to death."

Hørte en del på Arcade Fire på ungdomsskolen/vgs så litt nostalgisk:) noe litt bra, noe kjedelig. Likte Sprawl 1 & 2 best tror jeg. 2.5

Another hour plus long album. Call me old. Call me short attention span. I find 40 minutes give or take usually leaves me wanting more. An hour plus leaves me wondering when it's going to end. About half of this album is strong.

Quite interesting. Makes me want to explore them further.

6 years separate this and the last Arcade Fire album we reviewed. Kind of had this in the background through the first 3 songs. Enjoyed it fine, but didn't get perked up until Rocco. Instrumental on Empty Room almost has a post-rock quality about it, except with vocals. It reminds me a lot of an Explosions in the Sky song that I can't quite place. In any case, I really enjoyed it and the seamless transition into City with No Children. I listened to this twice through, and, just like their last album on this list, I didn't find myself too terribly moved. I think that the songs on their own are fine and in some cases really strong, but for whatever reason this doesn't push beyond the background noise. I'm a 3 / 5. Really liked Empty Room and Suburban War.

Pretty standard sounding album until it got to Suburban War then it started picking up a bit. Sprawl II was probably my favorite song, it was cool that it sounded like a new singer. Pretty underwhelming compared to the Funeral album from a couple weeks ago

Liked Funeral more than this tbh. It's good just nothing spectacular. Definitely find myself really liking some moments of certain songs but overall I just don't really see the HUGE appeal of Arcade Fire. Idk I'm going to listen again but this is a solid 3.

Vraiment moins aimé que Funeral, je mettrais pas mal les mêmes commentaires que pour Neon Bible. Je pense que c'est un bon album, mais c'est un tantinet overrated. L'album est un peu long et beaucoup de pièces sont trop du pareil au même. Mais j'ai clairement un biais négatif avec ce genre de indie rock. 6/10

Some good songs. A lot of forgettable songs. Nowhere near as good as Funeral or Neon Bible.

Good background music while working

There are some good tracks on here, but it's also long and forgettable

unoffensive

Glad I listened to it. Generally liked it but many of the songs felt too similar. Probably wont be putting it into rotation.

Non riesce a conquistarmi del tutto ma vi sono alcune chicche indimenticabili

Touches on innovative but slips into boring sometimes for me. Overall good.

FAR too many songs. makes it a slog most of time. thank god there are some absolute gems hidden in the slog. fav songs: rococo, city with no children, half light I, we used to wait.

Never listened to this band before, and didn't hate it.

Very good album. Standouts: The Suburbs, Ready to Start, City with No Children, Month of May, We Used to Wait, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Others: Wasted Hours, Speaking in Tongues 3.5/5

Busy instrumentation, don't do anything interesting with their multiple instruments. OK as background. No actual bad songs, but it's just not my thing. 3/5

Definitely a bunch of quality tracks on here and thematically on point. For me there is just a lot of, not necessarily filler, but tracks that didn't grab my attention and left the album feeling a bit bloated. Fav track: Half Light 1 Strong 3

My first fartcake mire record all the way through. Enjoyable, but I never felt like the songs earnt their anthemic presentation. To be fair I'd need to give it another go to dig into the lyrics and everything a bit more, but I'm not necessarily compelled to. You'll have to wait until next time fartcake! *was 3.5 but Al slighted me and honestly I don't remember this album really anymore Fave track: Ready to Start

This one grew on me quite a bit. Always found this group a little overrated or out of my taste but this honestly was pretty good. Great flow and solid songwriting. Was nearly giving this a four but for now will mark down. Maybe will change my mind on more listens. Three and a half. Fave track: Modern Man

Pretty hooky easy listening stuff, sounds a bit older than it is - well played stuff

Win Butler being a creep aside, this is an impressive indie effort that unknowingly heralded the genre’s shift into the smoother, radio-friendly anthems of the teens. What the band lacks in dynamism, they make up for in composition and verve – a few lyrics here are cringe to the fullest, but they’re chanted over fun synths/guitars so many times that it’s easy to let it slide. This weakness does poke through a few times, however, when the melody just doesn’t hit right and the tracks drag on beating a dead horse of a chorus. Still, there are some ideas and lines here that show the band getting ahead of (or even defining) the synth-fueled aughts-teens transition. The hypnotic drone of “Sprawl II” (check out the Soulwax remix), pounding urgency of “Ready to Start”, and melancholic paranoia of “We Used to Wait” are only a few of the highs of this album, and they’re lofty enough to wash out the bad and keep me coming back to this LP year after year. I’m doing my best to put nostalgia aside here and be fair even though I was like, what, 12? when this came out– does anyone else remember the interactive music video webpage for We Used to Wait? Loaded that thing on my Grandma’s computer and crashed it. Good times!

They have a couple of songs that I really like quite a bit. But they also have a lot of songs that are a meandering, muddy mess. They need to sharpen their production values and figure hone their songwriting. They get the third star because it is listenable.....in small chunks.

The production for this project is beautifully dense and clean. The musicianship is also well-presented. The songwriting is great but needs more idiosyncratic moments at times. The cohesiveness of this project is a double-edged sword because it produces a body of work rather than a collection of tracks, but sadly they end up blending into one another too much overall. Score: 72/100

I've listened to the top songs from Arcade Fire before (The Suburbs, Wake Up etc.) but doesn't evoke any special emotions in me. Kind of the same in this album, but I did enjoy Half Light I and Suburban War quite a lot actually. Feels like a proper 3, definitely not higher.

I think this albums features one of the better songs of the decade, namely Sprawl II. It was a great hit when it came out and it still holds up over a decade later (maybe being 20 when it came out gives it an extra point or two). There are a few other very good songs on the album such as "Ready to start". None of the other songs really stuck out and as a whole album I would rather cherry pick my favourites. I think as a whole, the next album "Reflektor" is better although it doesn't have the same number of large hits.

Meh

Fine indie rock album. A bit of variety, but still fairly generic, IMO.

A bit too rowdy for me

Arcade Fire is a good band. This album defined the sound and style of all the band's other albums. All very similar!

Listened to this on Friday afternoon, reviewing on a Monday morning. I've mostly forgotten about it except I remember enjoying the female lead vocal songs more than the others. Didn't love or hate it, so just giving it an average 3/5.

1/6/23 i think i heard this so much as a kid that i physically can’t anymore Fave Track; the suburbs :)

Genres: Indie rock, art rock, baroque pop Formed: Montréal, Quebec, Canada in 2001 Run time: 16 songs, 1 hour, 3 min This is their third album. Track 11, “Wasted Hours” is the least played track but it still has over 7M plays on Spotify. Track 1, “The Suburbs” has over 146M plays. Track 10, “Month of May” had a punk feel to it. The big sound of the album reminds me of the fact they’re from Canada. I just can’t make my mind up about this album. As a whole I enjoyed it, and I liked a couple of tracks, but nothing really grabbed me. Perhaps after a couple more listens it will grow on me, so for now, it will remain on my playlist and we’ll see. My Rating: ***

6/10. Decent indie album. I probably liked their album Funeral more, but it's been a while.

Tiene un sonido similar a lo largo de todo el proyecto, pero la realidad es que no casna, las letras por momentos son profundas y los ritmos sumergen en una especie de historia de soles y calidez, en la que se plantea un punto de vista intimo y personal. Como digo, no cansó pero al ser similares pasan desapercibidads es un buen disco, pero con falta de un monton de cosas 6/10.

Yeah man not sure whether i like this or not, some songs are compelling, however the whole thing feels stunted somehow.

Liked the first two albums more

I was really impressed by the credentials and accolades when I read about this album. I didn't get the same by listening to the album, which was fine. Just fine. I know a few Arcade Fire tracks to hum along to, and I'm not sure why this album was picked instead of one of their other albums.

Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex I do like Arcade Fire; Funeral and Neon Bible were on regular repeat, but then their subsequent albums somehow passed me by. The Suburbs is good, though quite long, defo worth a few listens, but their earlier albums still hold closer for me.

Arcade Fire is from Canada. This is their third album. They have three albums on the 1001 list. Singles from The Suburbs ------------------------------------- The Suburbs"/"Month of May (#94 CAN) We Used to Wait (#75 UK) Ready to Start (#67 UK) City with No Children Speaking in Tongues Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Standouts: Rating: 3/5

This never ends

Meh

Salut Chatgpt, peux-tu me créer une critique musicale qui soit à la fois valable pour The World is a Ghetto de War et The Suburbs de Arcade Fire parce que ça fait deux semaines que je dois écrire une critique des deux et je les confonds. Bien sûr, voici une critique courte qui convient aux deux albums : The World is a Ghetto de War et The Suburbs de Arcade Fire sont deux albums qui abordent la question de l'aliénation sociale de manière émouvante. Alors que The World is a Ghetto explore les tensions raciales dans les quartiers défavorisés, The Suburbs se concentre sur la solitude et l'isolement dans les banlieues. Les deux albums offrent des réflexions sur les difficultés de vivre dans un monde où la communauté est en train de se défaire, tout en proposant une musique captivante et rythmée. Si vous cherchez des albums qui parlent de la condition humaine avec une grande sincérité, The World is a Ghetto et The Suburbs sont des choix incontournables.

C'était sympathique, mais loin de leur apogée musicale, à savoir leur association avec une Miley Cyrus couverte de drogue de la tête au pied au milieu des années 2010.

it's alright. Never understood the appeal.

Average. Didn't grab my attention much and felt like casual background music. Not my thing.

Yep, this is fine and good, just not my personal favorite.

I love the structure and felt the journey of the album particularly with the reprise, but didn’t grab me as much as I’d hoped.

took me a while to listen to because the first song is so good i kept replaying it for several days modern man is also okay rest of the album is mid

Made for good background noise as I worked.

Ok. Not really my thing but they were talented for sure

I feel like I should have liked this more. It seemed good, but something about it just left me cold.

Invokes a nostalgic feel. A lot of the songs sound the same to me though….

Its dense and long and probably needs several listens (which i can't give it). I adored Funeral and thought Neon Bible was v good. This however feels a bit laboured. That's probably a bit harsh. 3.5

Not as good as funeral, but there is some good in it

not really my cup of tea but some tracks that were ok

Good but didn’t blow me away by any means. Maybe for the time it was

Hard not to compare this to funeral and I prefer funeral in almost every way. Not a bad album but doesn’t have the same charm, and my most common complaint nowadays applies: too long. Albums should have a hard cap at 45 minutes

I hadn't listened to any of Arcade Fire before this project and I found their album Funeral (our album #65) bold and theatrical. I felt an arc and an intention. I listened several times. Now it's a year and a half and 500 or so albums later and maybe I'm tired and maybe it isn't fair to compare this album to the previous one but that's what I found myself doing. I heard glimmers of what I liked about Funeral but overall found The Suburbs much less compelling. I don't particularly want to devote much attention to it again.

Ready To Start is good the rest was forgettable

I didn't particularly love Arcade Fire before the controversy and have even less of a reason to bother trying now. That said, this was the album of theirs I found myself most interested in. I've lived, worked, and travelled with many Arcade Fire fans through the years, so I've heard their music quite a bit for a band I could never get into. I never actively disliked them either at least. But something about the morning-after vibes of this one always felt more enjoyable for me than largely indifference toward the others.

No bad songs but no stand out.

Pretty good. Quite chilled.

Argh, it is difficult to separate the artist and their art nowadays...but I still quite like a lot of songs here and the debut album is one I still will perk up when I hear it...but I would have gone 4 stars but one bad apple brings them down to a 3...maybe even a 2...so let's say 2.5.

It started out strong enough with The Suburbs and Modern Man, but lost its way somewhere along the middle. There's a great indie sound here, but it feels like Arcade Fire couldn't quite find it. The record feels meandering and aimless by the seventh track, and as a whole it just lacks oomph. And for an album that's over an hour long you gotta have a lot of oomph.

Bit of a plod, with a occasional quasi transcendental moment

A few good ones and a lot of similar ones. Friendly nice Canadians. I know it’s 5 stars for many listeners but not me. I will give 3 for respect.

As far as the Indie genre goes, this wasn’t bad. The first song had a bit of a Neil Young ballad sound and the album also mixed in some much heavier stuff. They sound like they would be fun t see in concert.

I remember walking into my local record store back in 2004 and the music playing stopped me in my tracks. I had never heard such a glorious wall of sound. I asked who it was and the clerk showed me Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral. I immediately bought it and couldn't wait to get home to play it. Mind Blown. Their second album Neon Bible was pretty good too with the magnificent No cars go - it was anthemic rock at its best. It also has My body is a cage and Keep the car running which are quite good. Unfortunately they peaked early though because I find their third album The Suburbs to be just ok. The title track and Ready to start are good, but the rest of the album fizzles out a bit for me.

Da e jo bra på ein måte, bare ikkje nåke eg får lyst til å inkludera i listene mine

Middle shelf

I didn’t hate this album but it almost immediately just felt like white noise in the background. It had some good parts but as a whole nothing really came out of it. It wasn’t bad, just completely average.

Was nog niet echt bekend met Arcade Fire maar vond het wel chill om te luisteren. Ga zeker meer van ze luisteren

Always thought of arcade fire as being a festival band and this solidified that. Record didn't do too much for me, but I would absolutely go see them if they were playing at a festival I was at

My first intro was "Neon Bible", so I'd already become familiar with the sound. This album just clued me into some other songs that were similar in kind and stood out in some cases. I didn't get particularly engrossed in it, but I also found it listenable and made it through the album. Would probably listen again to get more depth and pay more attention to the lyrics.

Nice

Nice album easy to listen to

Pleasant background music. I liked it while it was playing and would give it 3.5 stars if I could. But I need to round that down because now, right after finishing the album, I don't really remember what it sounded like anymore.

Still not sure if I like it, but this listen through I enjoyed the lyrics and some of the songs

Every song reminded me of taking family trips in the 80s with the radio tuned to a station that plays nothing but generic but pleasant songs. The lyrics are a little melancholy but the music is very soothing. Ultimately though, it is mostly forgettable. 3.5 stars

Hooked me with the first, titular song. Nice transition from there to the second song. From there, things began to fall apart. The album started to feel bland and boring, like it didn't have anything new or novel to say or show. This is probably a personal problem, but I don't think I'll ever understand Arcade Fire. Repetitive instrumentals and mediocre, generic vocals; it just doesn't do it for me.

I think it would be a 4 if the front man didn’t have allegations against him .

Okay but not as great as people say.

Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal. Their sound reminds me somewhat of Radiohead or alt-J. There is quite a bit going on musically in this album. There are certain songs that lean harder to the rock side of the spectrum, then other songs that are more indie pop, like the song Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) which sounds like it could be a Depeche Mode song. I enjoy the harmonies reached by the male and female vocalists. I am not a fan of indie music as a knee jerk reaction, however, there were a few enjoyable songs on this record. I doubt I will ever listen again, as it took literally all day to listen to a 1hr album because I kept losing interest , but I can appreciate what they're doing here, and how they influenced so many other new artists who have came since. I just really don't like this new age indie rock artsy hipster garbage much. Favourite songs: Month of May, Ready to Start, Modern Man, Wasted Hours, Empty Room, City With No Children Least favourite songs: Rococo 3/5

Canadian indie rock darlings Arcade Fire have been praised for their early work, and for good reason. The level of compositional quality on display is more akin to an orchestra than a rock band, showcasing the songwriting chops of the band. By all accounts, Arcade Fire is a great band. And yet, there are little things that hold it back for me. Win Butler's voice, the overproduction, the goddamn length of the thing. Perhaps it is too ambitious, too grandiose for my own liking. It's an incredible piece of work that somehow doesn't fit too well in my mind. Maybe in another time, another place, another life, this would be my perfect album. Sadly, I cannot find that place right now.

Good fun little indie album. Limited depth but evokes the mid noughties hipster zeitgeist relatively well. Very Where the Wild Things Are. May have even been the soundtrack. I remember NME journos pissing themselves over this album but it's basically just better than fine

Pretty good album, I've heard Arcade Fire before, but nothing off of this album. I'd give it a relisten

Elevator pablum. All pleasant enough but nothing to slap you in the face to make you pay attention.

A slow journey from ‘It’s a bit rubbish’ to ‘I quite like this’ through a few ‘Oh, it’s that one’ on the way. I reckon multiple listens would wear into a favourite like an old comfortable pair of shoes.

a little too much sprawl

Liked some of the tracks.

Leuke popmuziek. Het voelt als veel van de modernere bands, maar ook een beetje als The Cure. ***

I applaud the creativity in the songwriting and the deep sparkle of the production. I somehow can’t escape the feeling that this band sounds like a great imitation of a rock band, as if for a stage or screen presentation, rather than a rock band itself. There is just some kind of barrier or distance that prevents me from completely engaging with this band and their music.

its ok, i like it. the beginning of the songs is good but I like heavier and more energetic songs. I like indie songs but this album isn't that energetic. this is a personal preference, I can see other people liking this. I'll listen to it, it's decent but I like my songs loud and energetic. :)

Didn't enjoy this as much as the other one, but I still saved a few. I like that it all merges together from track to track.

Ei huonoa indie rockia

I like the title track, a lot of the others are eh

Good ambient music. There were a few songs that I enjoyed but a lot was just background music.

meh very pajero

This was a nice album to listen to. Nothing terribly interesting to me musically, but solid al around. Favorite track: Empty Room

Heard it before?: Not in entirety but have heard a few from this Enjoy it?: yeah, it has something going for it at the start and it has a really nice theme that you feel attached too but that just fades for me after the track ‘city with no children’, still solid nonetheless Favourite track: Track 1 - The Suburbs

I really like Arcade Fire's earlier albums, and my interest fell off a bit beyond those. However there's some good songs in here. It does feel over-long though, with a bit of sag in the middle. I really love Sprawl II. Seeing that song in particular live at Glastonbury - there was actual magic and electricity in the air and it always takes me back to that moment.

Indie mais do que agradável.

Classic indie alternative album. Supposed to see them in a couple of weeks. Was originally with Beck and Feist but they both dropped after sexual abuse accusations agains win butler. Tough shit and was mainly going for Beck. Anyway, some classics in here but a bit heavy of an album. Could’ve been trimmed down.

Kinda mid

Very nice. Typical AF sounds. Would listen to it again.

Though absolutely my style of music... there just isn't enough that really grabs you. The layers are nice, but the melodies aren't catchy, the lyrics don't seem very compelling and doesn't really pull me in. I did really enjoy Sprawl II and Suburban War.

Okay

nice driving music couple of bangers

j'aime bien arcade fire

it's ok. 3 stars.

legal, mas não me cativou

Interesting but not my cup of tea

I was never a fan so I didn't have to be disappointed when it turned out Win Butler was a piece of shit.

I wanted to like this album as a whole more, but besides a few songs that were better than the others, it just doesn't match up to the rest of their earlier works, for me.

Album intro isn't my cup of tea. Deep Blue seemed okay. Sounds like it's from the 70s, not the 10s. Likely wouldn't listen again.

meh. Not bad, but meh

MGMT-esque Hollister background-type music. Sounds great but the mixing for the vocals vs. the heaviness of the production sounds too outdone for the time it came out in. Enjoyed it but is somewhat forgetful. 6/10

Solid album, encapsulates nicely the melancholy and sadness of growing up stuck in the suburbs . Maybe drags on a little in the end.

Ca va, la plupart des chansons sont basiques mais quelques unes sont mieux

Honnêtement c'était chill. Les chansons se ressemblaient beaucoup dans le style, grosse guitare de fond tu connais, la seule qui s'est différentiée c'est Sprawl II avec ses bons gros synthés. Ça passe en musique de fond mais rien de mémorable. Il faudrait soigner un peu plus ces mélodies malades... 3/5

Plutot cool album indie, chill oklm, pas transcendnat mais sympa

Very chill melodies and vocals are cool sometimes. Start is very good and catchy, the end is quite slow but not in a good way... 3/5

Nothing special was still good

Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) is far and away the highlight of this album. It’s dark and synthy, my kind of jam. It reminds me of The Dø, who are definitely worth checking out…Shake, Shook, Shaken is a great place to start. The key to this song being elevated, other than the dark synthiness, is that Régine Chassagne sings lead. Her voice is great. Win’s voice is fine but not on Régine’s level. I’ve had Funeral for a while and listened to it many times. It stayed on later editions of the 1001 list while this album got cut. Right call, amongst the Arcade Fire albums at least. Anyway, I brought up Funeral because I like the vocals a lot. Sampling Funeral again for this review, I noticed that they used more effects than this album, which worked better with that musical style.

the first song is pretty decent the rest are eh 3.5

It was ok, I guess. Nothing stand out. Pleasant enough but not something I would go back to.

This is the third album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 charts as well as the Irish Albums chart, the UK Albums chart, & the Canadian Albums chart. Then in 2011 The Suburbs won the Grammy for Album of Year. This Arcade Fire album is considered to be their masterpiece. The indie rock music was spiced with a sense of nostalgia, but also future dread. Listening to it was like pain and pleasure, loss and hope. The album had mass appeal, and was also an ambitious reach for fame and fortune. I liked this album, but perhaps not as much as the average indie rock listener.

I think I’ve already covered this band twice: I just don’t get the hype, it’s unremarkable alternative rock to my ears, about a decade late to claim any innovation in sound. This similarly didn’t do anything much for me. I didn’t hate it at all but nothing stood out.

Nice

we used to wait - reminds me of running up that hill. 6/10 the suburbs - steady beat. sad. 7/10 modern man - indie rock. relatable. 7.5/10 rococo - probably my fav. strong. 8/10 empty room - car ride rock. 7/10 city with no children - 7.5/10 month of may - a lot of drumming. 6.5/10 wasted hours - nice rhythm. 7.5/10 deep blue - piano. nice dynamics. 7.5/10 sprawl i - kinda sad. giving end of the world movie. 6/10 sprawl ii - livelier. female singer. 7.5/10 half light i - guitar. nice rhythm. 7.5/10 half light ii - 6/10 suburban war - 6.5/10

Pretty okay

je ne suis pas anglophone mais il me semble que ces gars ont un certain intérêt pour les banlieues

A faded photobook of memories.

Good songs, having some readings about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_rock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_rock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_pop

Not too loud, not too soft. Good background. Seemed to go on longer than needed.

I used to really like this album but save for 2 songs it has aged pretty badly. Bland indie rock of early 2010s

A very generous 3 based on the beginning and end of the album being excellent. The less said about the middle portion the better. A real shit sandwich

Yea it's OK, I liked that other album of theirs more

Fine, fairly generic indie rock. But they do it well.

Hmm... Not too bad but not for my taste...

all a bit dull. i don't understand what it's doing on this list. i get their debut album as it was very different when it was released and stuck out, but this is like the first album with the corners knocked off, like restarting a computer in safe mode. pretty boring.

Great band

decent scran

Moderni indieklassikko, mihin en muutamaa hittiä lukuun ottamatta ole oikein koskaan päässyt kunnolla sisälle. Sama fiilis tästä tulee edelleenkin. Esim. levyn avaava The Suburbs menee varmaan top 100 lempparibiiseihini, mutta muuten levy on aika epätasaista jurnuttelua. Toki kohokohtia levyllä löytyy, mutta kokonaisuus ei ihan itselleni toimi.

Pretty good. Enjoyable listen.

Ok. Overrated.

Starts off strong then gets dull pretty quickly.

Arcade Fire is FINE

Pretty lovely and a good trip down memory lane - but it’s a bit overlong - I’ve started to a appreciate a compact album - although this one is actually quite engaging throughout. It would be a 4 star were it a quarter shorter

Didn't hate it but didn't love it either.

Cet album est excellent. C’est un peu long par contre. J’étais prêt à passer à autre chose avant que ce ne soit terminé. Le band a un son caractéristique et Will Butler a une façon propre à lui d’écrire des tounes. Ce n’est pas mon AF favoris.

Okay, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t love today’s album. I guess I’ve never listened to an Arcade Fire album all the way through, and while I’ve considered myself a casual fan in the past (have some of their songs on playlists, etc.) and am impressed by their multi-instrumentality…I thought this album was pretty boring to listen to. After the first few songs it just all sounded pretty much the same to me. So, there you have it. A person who didn’t like the 2011 Grammy-winning Album of the Year

I've never given Arcade Fire a shot despite them being all the rage back when I was in highschool...and this is dope, great album to have on.

Definitely a good piece of art with a cohesive sound and some great songs. Month of May is my favorite for sure, and not just for nostalgic reasons. I didn't love or get lost in the album, and part of it felt very dreary.

The songs that were overplayed on every indie radio station a decade ago. The music is pretty good but gahh have I heard it too much.

Best Song: Rococo. I really like the way he plays with the stresses on the syllables of the word "rococo" to generate rhythm in the chorus. Worst Song: Wasted Hours. Sleepy song that sounds like old blues standard instrumentals. Not a terrible song, but doesn't fit with the rest of the album. Overall: Well-produced, thoughtful, stylish indie rock-pop? It's definitely very well done, but still ends up feeling somewhat heartless to me.

Varios discos de Arcade Fire me gustan en su conjunto y brillan en temas concretos. Este disco es también así: Ready to start o City with no children. La cuestión es que tenía muy buen recuerdo de este album pero ahora me ha parecido bien pero no notable. Hay que escucharlo y es imprescindible pero no algo increíble.

NOSTALGIA Inspired by their upbringing in a suburb of Houston, Texas. Nostalgia. Did it worked on me? Yes, because I also have my own experiences of living in a suburban area. Some elements of '80s synthpop and '90s alt-rock all mixed with the notably soft and indie rock sound. Nostalgia. I think this IS what nostalgia sounds like. Bittersweet, but it's just a sugar coating that covers the fact that it was just a mundane experience in a freaking suburb. This album nailed that character of nostalgia. It's boring, but the sounds and the instrumental build-ups create this sweet nostalgia flavor. Album cover of a generic photo of a suburban scene. Edited so it looks like faded and unreal, yet familiar at the same time. Nostalgia. Perfect album cover, it tells us that nostalgia lies. And perhaps that's why it sounds and feels so sweet. Overall, it's basically a nostalgia album. It worked on me most of the time, because again, I have my own suburban experiences. But I think other people who never lived in a suburban area, or even anyone who observed the sound closely, will see this album's sound naked: a boring indie rock sound.

Excellent album. I was dubious about Arcade Fire when I read some of the music press reports and reviews. But I found that the album was just 'different' to other releases around that time. Well worth listening to.

3.5

Very cool.

Oh AF. The debut blew my mind, hit me emotionally hard. The second a little less so but a majestic release. By The Surburbs I feel little of the vibe that carried the first two albums. The opener is solid, but as the rest it feels like a pastiche of themselves. It's solid and perfectly listenable but really goes nowhere.

booo, boooo!

Interesting but I'm not sure how memorable it will really be

Ausser dass es weder 2 noch 4 Sterne sind, sondern 3, gäbe es noch zu sagen, dass viele Songs zu lang sind (ausgerechnet der erste Song ist bereits zu lang, was ich vom Standpunkt der Vermarktung für nicht nachvollziehbar halte) und auch das Album ist insgesamt überflüssig lang.

I'm not a fan of Arcade Fire. I realize that is a massive album for a lot of people, but I just couldn't get into it. With that said, it's a really well done and well paced album.

The suburbs doesn’t need to sound this adventurous

Fairly bog standard stuff. Modern Man stood out everytime it came around though.

For some reason I never got into these mid-2000's "indie rock" bands. They're a bit too pretty for me - maybe there isn't enough puck rock influence musically, even if some of the ethos is there otherwise (hence the "indie" label). They never seem to actually rock to me. This is a bit of a chore for me to get through if I'm being honest. A little boring but not terrible. Just ok.

Välillä ihan lepposaa menoa ja ymmärrettävissä laaja menestys, mutta ei kyllä helli kummemmin omaa makua joten 2,5*

Theatrical. It's not bad and I like the unique instrumentation that pops up but holy hell is it long. I imagine it's telling a story but I zoned out here and there. At least I have a reason to be so lukewarm on Arcade Fire now. Favorite tracks: "The Suburbs", "Deep Blue"

closer to a 3.5

This album is just alright, to say the least. It has a cool atmosphere, but otherwise it didn't really evoke any strong emotions in me, aside from a strong sense of boredom. The only thing worse than a bad album is a boring one. Favs: The Suburbs,

Boring. 2.49

I continue to not be able to get into this album

Damn, two duds in a row. And duds to me not to most. Sorry apex twin and arcade fire. Anyway I just dont get arcade fire. Its just very standard alternative or indie music. Thats what I dony understand. Why is this the music thats lauded the way it is? With this record i get the concept. Its in theory a cool concept. Id rather listen to any pop punk band complain about thier suburban town than this. I will give the suburbs to props of having at least some energy in a few places. Nit very many but some. Also I remember the popular songs from this record making the rounds on the alternative radio station I listened to as a teen. And god I hated ready to start and we used to wait. And i still see it as the start of a subsection of music i still cant stand. Alot of that indie stuff isnt for me. And this was just one of many that came on all the time. Im less angry about this than that record with the quill on it. That one I went in on. This is better but still quite shit. Oh well. Hopeing for something good tomorrow. Goodbye arcade fire. I won't miss you

fine, too long

It wasn't bad. It was dull. Like listening to someone who's had a shit life just drone on about how shit everything is. I get it, life isn't all blowjobs and beer, but fuck me it's boring hearing about it from someone else. It's only 2 stars from me.

2,4/5

Songs with lots of promises, that ultimately go nowhere.

I saw Arcade Fire live back in 2008 when they were playing a few slots before Rage Against The Machine at a festival. I remember thinking they were quite boring back then, and not much has changed. This album is waaaaaaaay to long, Month of May is the only track I really enjoyed, the rest I just tolerated until it was done. 2.5* rounded down to 2*

Nothing particularly bad about the songs, but it just felt really boring, homogeneous, and drawn out. Every song just sounds like something that would play in some sad cheesy movie montage and there was nothing that ever really stood out.

Better than I expected, but the quirkiness just doesn’t do it for me

I had a listen to this on my phone this morning whilst I was out and about for an hour. dull, bland, indie pop, nothing even remotely interesting about it at all. Of course, you might love it....

so Baroque Pop? eh NEXT

the best thing about this was that i’ve now listened to all 3 arcade fire albums on the list and i can get through the remaining 900ish in peace. if i felt it was necessary to listen to one of these before you die it would be this one. more cohesive in theme and more interesting in sound than the other two. i get the sense that it really feels like it’s saying something but there is nothing new about boring indie pop OR hating the suburbs

The epitome of forgettable. This came and went and the only reason it's not getting a 1 is because it wasn't so outright bad to the point where I needed to turn it off. Idk how this is a must listen. 2/5

These guys were explained what the suburbs were but they actually lived in upper class neighborhoods - type shi

I can't give my full Arcade Fire history here -- I need to save that for Funeral. But I found this record to be really unenjoyable. It's a basic culmination of the "baroque twee" style of indie rock that dominated the late 00s -- a style I can't stand. Plus, this kind of muted, aimless meditation on suburban ennui feels like a really boring, played out theme for an album in 2010. But hey, this won album of the year at a time most people didn't know who they are -- I'm old enough to remember all the tweets that said, "who the f is rk fire?"

I mean, it’s ok…

Not my favorite white people music. As a kid I used to confuse arcade fire and arctic monkeys cause their names looked similar. How wrong I was.

yup. that sure sounded like arcade fire for an hour. 2.5

A couple good songs. Mostly boring. 2/5

A nice song stretched out to an excruciatingly long LP

On the scale of the tracks, there's too little happening. Give me climaxes, give me instrumental solo parts, give me breaks and different song parts! But no, the songs are mostly boring and too long. On the scale of the whole album, there's very little variety. It all sounds like many iterations of the same two or three songs. Needless to say, the album feels much too long. I get that they create a certain vibe that many people dig, but not me for 60+ minutes straight. Passable background music, but slightly annoying when listened to closely. 2/5 - below average

This was not my cup of tea. However, I'd never heard their music and so it was good to have tried it at least.

Glorified Target music. About half of the album's tracks are tolerable, some good elements some bad elements, but then other half is hard to sit through at all. The title track may be the only wholly good song. This album is profound music for Imagine Dragons and stomp clap hey listeners maybe? I'm completely unsure where the almost universally positive response to this album comes from. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe the vapid pseudo-nostalgia doesn't work on me. The fans often compare it to Springsteen, which I can somewhat see. Maybe if someone less talented than Bruce Springsteen by every metric tried to create a song like "The River," they could end up with something like "Suburban War" (top 3 on the album). I dunno... But I'm glad others love it I guess

very forgettable. imo

I got halfway through it and you know, it was OK, but at the same time I felt like I'd been listening to it for 2 hours and I was still only halfway done. It's just over an hour long, but it feels like so much more. Which basically means it was a three-star album that I didn't finish so.... 2 stars.

Hey Arcade Fire, news flash: your countrymen Rush managed to do their indictment of suburbia in a single song. Seriously, I wanted to like this album more than I did. What held it back for me was the slow pace/low energy of many songs, overlong songs/album, and somewhat sophomoric lyrics. I waffled between two and three stars for this, ultimately deciding to withhold that third star for them being both pretentious AND long winded.

I still don't understand some of these albums. It's fine just fine.

Getting a lot of repeat artists recently (and ones I am not really into either urgh). "Ready to Start" is nice, but the record has the same problem Neon Bible does where it's so grandiose and insists its a lot more interesting than it is. Feels harsh to say but the album is unimpressive vocally, lyrically, and production-wise in equal measure

I found this to be very boring.

C’était pas mal mais ça ne sortait pas du lot pour moi. La seule qui m’a marqué c’est The Suburbs et ses déclinaisons.

Eh, I found this kind of boring. I can't say I was a fan of this kind of music in the 2000s/2010s.

Eu sempre soube que essa banda era bem renomada, daquelas bandas ''cult'', mas como sempre tenho um pé atrás com esse tipo de banda fui ouvir já receoso. E deu o que eu imaginei: não gostei. Rock clichê, com pouquíssimos momentos interessantes. Mais uma vez eu me pergunto, será que o problema sou eu?

Nism še poslušala Arcade Fire. Prvi ("The Suburbs") ni bil kar sm pričakovala, drugi me pa presenet, ker prepoznam komad, pa ne vem od kje ("Ready to Start"). Mja. Na začetku je blo še tko, kinda ok. Zj sm pa že kinda fakin bored ("Suburban War"). Nič zapomljivega do zdaj, edino I guess bi spet prepoznala drugi komad, če bi ga slišala. I guess. A ta band ma svoj identity, a sam oponašajo vse, kar leze? Še trije komadi. V glavnem, boring.

This album did not really draw me in, perhaps because i am a bit tired, but it felt very long and uninteresting. I'm not sure what made it boring but nothing really stuck, all sounded a bit generic, not to say its a bad album, just not amazing from me. Giving it 2 stars with a 5/10 rating.

Liked a few tracks such as Wasted Hours and Months of May, but generally felt it was a bit lacklustre and monotone for me.

1,5

I like empty rooms, but the other ones are ehhh

Arcade Fire are a classic case of diminishing returns - a great debut album and then increasingly worse follow ups. This album isn't terrible but it's completely forgettable

Plodded along ok, not really for me and nothing really stuck

Nice enough, but too drab and unambitious for me, two stars. Tom.

Music was ok. Hard not to keep thinking of the lead’s sexual misconduct allegations. So the experience wasn’t great.

Where is the heart and soul. Every time I thought a song was going to get interesting it just didn’t. The lyrics and meaning behind them are deep enough but it sounds like the singer just doesn’t even care. It wasn’t terrible but I can’t imagine ever listening to it again.

Generic pop, from the boring old suburbs

Eminem, Katy Parry, Lady Gaga, and Lady Antebellum were nominated at the grammys for album of the year in 2011. This somehow beat out all of them. And by the way, the katy perry album should be on the list.

It was fine for background radio music.I would not go out of my way to listen to Arcade Fire. One of those albums were the music kind of just passes you by leaving no real impact. 2 stars instead of 1 because it wasn't painful to listen too and not the most boring album I have gotten in this challenge. Favorite Track - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Least Favorite Track - Sprawl I (Flatlands) ⭐️⭐️

LIstened off and on, nothing grabbed me, mostly bored with it

The highs of Arcade Fire are amazing. This is not.

I like it, that's it, not very very nor so so

it didn’t rly stand out to me, but i enjoyed the female vocals

Two songs sounded like they were going somewhere, but the album’s very safe and forgettable.

irónicamente es genérico como pocas veces visto

With the exception of a few tracks, this record was really boring. Favourite Track(s): The Suburbs Least Favourite Track(s): Rococo, Half Light I, Suburban War

eh, alright

didnt care for it

This album thinks it's doing way more than it actually is. Title track is catchy and I really liked Sprawl II. Everything in the middle is a pretentious boring sandwich.

Mediocre. I did not enjoy this one at all.

The auditory equivalent of https://youtube.com/kjwlrvcKcfI?t=115

No lo terminé de escuchar. No me atrapó y me aburrió la verdad.

forgetable

The album started quite good but got pretty boring

The first time we got Arcade Fire I gave it a three because it was fine. There was nothing special about it but there wasn’t anything terrible about it either. After this second album with more mediocre music by them, I’m dropping it to a 2.

Every time I listen to Arcade Fire, I wish I was listening to The War on Drugs. Then, I put on The War on Drugs and the music gets much better. Arcade Fire is the bad boy from an after school special, a caricature of actual dissent or rebellion. It is safe, hipster bullshit. No me gusta.

#955. Arcade Fire is too cool of a name for a band that is so lame. This is third one now I've listened too, and the third one I have been completely underwhelmed with. 2/5: boring

Is a good album? Yeah it is. But it doesn't do much for me.

Hipsterit

Loved a lot of the songs. Not usually my kind of stuff but would listen again.

This was what everyone was hyped about 20 years ago?

This won album of the year at the grammy's in 2011, during a period when the mainstream seemed to be trying to embrace indie more and indie was largely and exercise in trying to find the "next radiohead" The songs are fine and the lyrics seem to connect with a certain kind of person. I am not one of those people and something about Arcade Fire has never connected with me. There are some nice hooks here, but in general is biases too much towards a wall of sound for my taste. I don't see my self revisiting this. Did i have to visit it in the first place? I'm not inclined to think so.

Significantly better than "Neon Bible" which was my first encounter with Arcade Fire. I still hate that they're involved with SA charges. Some of the songs tend to drone on and on and so do some of the lyrics. I'm still not a fan of Arcade Fire but this album is leagues better than "Neon Bible". Overall I'll give it a 5/10

Not very dynamic.

vcvcv

Man I just don’t think this band is for me. I tried!

Not for me.

Unremarkable. 2.5 stars

Pretentious twaddle

ehhh

05/01 Was okay

I didn't like it back in the day, and I like it even less now with everything surrounding Win Butler.

Would've been nice if I heard this when I was 16, it's nice enough indie I guess

Not my style

Svaki njihov album je loše ostario, ali ovaj nekako najviše

White boys in a garage band Favourite track: Rococo

The album is OK. I’ve never been a huge fan of Arcade Fire. They have a few good songs. 2.5 stars

I used to like this more now. It’s just kind of adult music. It’s just like pleasant. The first song is good. Probably a classic.

See previous Arcade Fire review(s). Good if you're in your 20's and trying to meet indie chicks I guess. Bad to be a woman around Wiz Butler.

annoys you by the end

Would listen again to around 2 songs on it but not really my cup of tea. It felt too slow, like every song was dragged.

boring

I couldn't wait for this to end. I find this indie rock music sooooo boring and uninspired. It wasn't unpleasant, but it didn't even have one song that I liked. There were some interesting guitar moments here and there, but all in all, this was a chore. 2/5

Seems to go on with not that much change in the songs. pretty fucking boring.

Not my thing but chill. 2.5

OK. 2/5

4.3/10 Музыка как в уютной забегаловке/баре,где все друг друга знают в штате Оригон.Звучание песен не в моем вкусе

uninspired indie slop

I tried to like the first two Arcade Fire albums when they came out. I never got into the Suburbs in 2010 and I feel even more ambivalent toward it in 2026. Accusations against Win Butler also taint their legacy. 2/5.

I hate this one the least out of the now 3 albums from this band.

If beige was an album, this would be it.

Sounds like it was inspired by late 80s and early 90s college radio and managed to take all the worst elements from it.

Vibe merchants obsessed with cheap nostalgia make a double album where the songs mostly sound identical. Full disclosure: I've had an axe to grind with this band since their debut, but I did go into this listen with as much of an open mind as I could. And hey, the first 3 songs made me think for a second that maybe I was wrong all these years. 'The Suburbs' has an interesting melodic trick of turning a verse full of innocence into a chorus full of icy dread. 'Ready To Start' may not go anywhere, but at least it has some energy, and 'Modern Man' has a fun, tricky time signature. But after that, the songs truly just blend together into a mass of similar rhythms, monotonous melodies and vocals that sound like a whiny Springsteen karaoke singer paired with Linda McCartney.

I dunno, if you like Killers/Muse/Imagine Dragons or that kinda stuff its fine I guess, but its very boring sounding to me. Lyrics are kinda political/satirical? I can't really say. Songs feel very long and not goind anywhere really, vocals are okay I guess. I just cant find the appeal, but can't say I hate it or anything, just wouldn't listen voluntarily or recommend to anyone

This music is listenable but there’s not a lot of stand outs. I like the through-theme of getting out of the burbs, I guess. The mixing really dampened the vocals so it was hard to understand most of the lyrics.

mi sembra gazzelle che canta in inglese con delle basi musicali un po’ più sofisticate, ma nessuna canzone mi ha entusiasmato.

Having to listen to another album full of walls of sound with no relief made my ears hurt again.

There is something about this that just feels so drippy and whiny. He likes expects the world to fall down at his feet and to be so amazing and wonderful, yet he seems to not find happiness in the little things in life and wants to do nothing to find happiness. Let's just mock those around him that are simple and find happiness in the normal everyday life around them. Its not bad...but just get over yourself dude.

I’m disappointed. I thought this would be the album in arcade fire’s discography that would fight against there beautifully crafted soul reaching album funeral. This album was just so on and off for me. I really like crawl 1 and 2 and some others like suburbs but none of these songs compare to any on funeral. Overall it was a total disappointment as I did get some good songs but also some misses and no songs that really touched me except crawl 1 and 2

Laughably banal. Like, I literally laughed out loud to myself a couple of times during its endless blandness. Giving it a 2 just because 1 would be too strong an opinion, and it's just so innoffensibly nothing. Granted, that endless cheesy drumming did nearly cause enough offense to warrant a 1.

good songs: modern man empty room we used to wait

I prefer Funeral but any Arcade Fire album is tainted by what has happened with Winn Butler. 5 years ago I probably would have given this a 4, but I hear the music differently now.

top 3 - The Suburbs, Month of May, Deep Blue. I can’t really find anything of note to say about this. None of the songs were bad but not great enough to want to listen to again. There are two other albums of theirs on this list so hopefully I’ll like those better.

Not so popular band, but a good band to listen to. Very vanilla beats and the lyrics were soft and not in your face. Nothing really stood out.

I should like this more than I do. There are some pleasant parts, but it kind of annoys me. Guilty of overplay when it came out. Very of it's time and pretty dated for such a new album. I don't think we needed three Arcade Fire albums on here, or even two. I probably would have gone with just Funeral, feels like their most innovative album. This is my least favorite of the three. In a vacuum I would probably give it 3 stars, but I'm doing 2 stars for too much Arcade Fire.

Highly overrated.

Nie przeslucham jeszcze raz. Chyba nawet w momencie kiedy taki indie rock mi sie podobal to uznalbym za zbyt nudne. Godzina tego to za duzo. generic mainstream indie music. Fajne momenty mozna policzyc na palcach jednej reki nawet jesli brakuje ci dwoch palcow. Najlepsze jak spiewa pani. Rococo powtórzone 5 razy nie irytuje tak jak rococo powtorzone 10 razy dlatego oni powtarzaja 15. Poza tym zbyt kanadyjskie, nudne i plaskie. Jeden z wielu indie zespolow o ktorych nie bede pamietal. maja fire w nazwie a na tej plycie to najwyzej zimne ognie.

this is not bad per se, just monotone indie slop. maybe it did something in 2010 but in 2026 it's just not it.

Honestly it’s all just kind of cringe to me. I understand what Arcade Fire is going for but it’s really not my style and doesn’t come across as sincere as I think they hope it will. That’s probably on me but still overall this sound and vibe is not really for me at this time in my life. The vocals are decent and sound good enough while chord progressions are quite basic and feel uncreative and repetitive.