Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
2007
Album Summary
Neon Bible is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was first released on March 5, 2007, in Europe and a day later in North America by Merge Records. Originally announced on December 16, 2006, through the band's website, the majority of the album was recorded at a church the band bought and renovated in Farnham, Quebec. The album is the first to feature drummer Jeremy Gara, and the first to include violinist Sarah Neufeld among the band's core line-up. Neon Bible became Arcade Fire's highest-charting album at the time, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number two, selling 92,000 copies in its first week and more than 400,000 to date. Being released within a month of similarly successful releases by The Shins (Wincing the Night Away) and Modest Mouse (We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank), Neon Bible was cited as an example of the popularization of indie rock. Critics met the self-produced Neon Bible with acclaim. Publications like NME and IGN praised the album for its grandiose nature, while Rolling Stone and Uncut opined that it resulted in a distant and overblown sound.
WikipediaMan… why’d Win Butler have to go and be an abusive asshole? The first three Arcade Fire records are perfect.
I like Arcade Fire, don't love them. Intervention is my favorite song on this album, and I like that the whole album sounds like it should be played in concert in a church or cathedral. They did a great job capturing a certain ambience. Probably a 4.5 but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here.
Being AF the greatest band of our generation, there is an ongoing discussion about which is their best record. This one, the second of their “holy trinity” has many adepts and you can see why. I read a boomer once, in a review of this record saying he did not get Bowies fascination with the band, for him they were too dramatic and not that gifted when it came to interpreting, I found that quite funny because to me, our beloved Bowie was always more about artistry than virtuosity, to me, the connection he found is quite evident. I love this record and it is a 5/5 even If it only suffices for a third in the rank (which tells you something about the other two) but, who could resists those magnificent transitions, all that palpable emotion? They do know (or at least did back then) how to turn songs around and explode with raw emotion and feels. I think the record starts a bit slow but from the moment Intervention breaks in, it is just one magnificent song after the other, I think I was brought to tears the first time I heard that song, and it happens a lot during the length of the record, that indomitable escalation in the song with those mariachi trumpets in Ocean Of Noise is something I will always get caught up. I’m glad this was part of the soundtrack of my youth, we did know a place were no cars go back then. I think this record was recorded on an abandoned church, I guess that’s how they managed that gigantic sound in My Body is a Cage, I think we will keep finding that song in movies and tv whenever they want to musicalize the climax.
the songs really got me. they are all really catchy and artistically pleasing.
One of my favorite albums from my college days. Such an amazing album. It was the first time I'd ever listened to them and I couldn't get enough. Hearing these songs takes me back to college and listening on my iPod while walking around campus. Every song is good on this album and I haven't hear an album of theirs that hits as hard as this one. Instant 5 for me.
All time great album... lots of hits and the album cuts are top notch. Really wish I would've seen this band in concert around this era. Not a bad song on this album.
Hieno bändi. Lyriikoissa on jotain Nick Cave -tyylistä voimaa ja nasevuutta, vaikkei nyt sen tason solistia olekaan. Ja mikä parasta, levyt on eheitä kokonaisuuksia ja hieno kaari tässäkin (okei bändin uusimmista levyistä en tiedä). Varmaan tämmöisen kliinisoundisen nollari-indien terävin vetonaula. Ei ihan bändin paras levy, mutta annetaan silti 5/5, kun tätäkin on elämässä tullut tyytyväisenä kulutettua. 4,5/5 ehkä lähempänä.
I had listened to a fair amount of this one before but it was nice. Very classic Arcade Fire but a sound I am familiar with. It didn't gutpunch me.
Arcade Fire's first three albums are a holy trinity of indie rock music, and while I couldn't definitively say which is my absolute favourite, "Neon Bible" stands out as the most grandiose. It's bleak but beautiful, orchestral but modern, has something important to say but doesn't drown you in its message - a skill Arcade Fire has unfortunately lost in their more recent releases. There isn't a bad song on this album; in fact, there isn't even a song that is merely 'good'. Every song is either great, or total perfection ("Keep the Car Running", "No Cars Go" and "My Body Is a Cage", to name just a few of the latter). Along with "Funeral" and "The Suburbs", I still listen to this album very often, and I suspect that won't change for as long as I continue to enjoy music. Standout tracks: Every single song on this album is a standout. There's nothing here worth skipping, from start to finish.
A sad album - Keith Also something about a 30ft hotdog Average day but good talks, feeling a little wobble. Great run.
The album is an absolute favorite, and recently. Their careful blend of music and vocals achieves the kind of balance that makes for a complete experience. To say this is a perfect album would be a bit much, but it does have a sense of delicateness where if you add more of a single element, or take away some of another, this balance quite obviously would be disrupted somehow. The completeness is the real draw here, a supreme satisfaction at the end of a listen.
really good obviously I liked Funeral more but this is still pretty great 9/10
5/5 Bester Song: my body is a Cage Sehr Strong Gibt mir richtig gute vibes
I am not really an indie fan, but this album was fantastic. The Springsteen-esque lyricism and delivery came out strong with the very interesting style of rock, fast in tempo, heavy in synth and guitar effects, with a underlying folk style as well. Production is clearly indie but the album is scaled at something much larger. 5/5!
I love it. I used to think it was one of their worst albums but it has really grown on me
Third Arcade Fire album and once again it has exceeded my expectations
I must admit, I started this album expecting a really bad, cringy, Imagine Dragons like band. Although it had some of that Imagine Dragons sound (you could tell Imagine Dragons were influenced by these guys), this album must have been ten to thirty times better than anything Imagine Dragons have ever put out. I especially liked Keep the Car Running, Intervention, Ocean of Noise, and My Body is a Cage. Overall, a surprisingly good album from a genre I've mostly ignored, and band I hadn't heard until now.
Before they journeyed down through the suburbs, reflecting on their statuses whilst questioning the pervasive consequences of technology on life, love, society and families, Arcade Fire were looking down the neon bible, plotting one foot in the mainstream and one foot out of the increasingly acknowledged indie world. In an age where earnest, bombastic rock was seen with a sneer and some eye rolling, Neon Bible sees the band unapologetically wear their hearts on their sleeves and make the move to become the most ambitious band of their generation. Could either be the peak of the bands career or the near-peak.
Great album...not quite the tour de force that is Funeral, but a worthy follow up. I may have listened to this one more than Funeral back when it was released. 4.5/5
This one takes me back to my teenage years, I remember listening to this album on repeat when I was 17/18. I got sick of hearing "Keep The Car Running" and "Intervention", but never got tired of "No Cars Go". I think I had listened to Funeral before this came out, but Neon Bible was the album that really got me into Arcade Fire. I love the darkness and melancholy throughout it, and especially the intensity of "(Antichrist Television Blues)". "Windowsill" is great too, and "Black Mirror" is a fantastic opener. I thought I'd feel a bit weirder about listening to this after the allegations against Win Butler, but I think I have strong enough memories of this album that I can separate it from him. I feel sorry for the rest of the band, but their new music weirds me out a bit now (it's also just not as good).
It's a shame that Win Butler turned out to be a bad guy, but I try to separate the artist from the art. I still distinctly remember the first time Arcade Fire showed up on my radar. I was watching Later with Jools Holland, must have been 2005, and suddenly there's this big group that looked like a bunch of nerdy high school band kids and they started playing this majestic cacophony of beautiful, chaotic music. It blew me away. Neon Bible is one of their best albums, along with the other two of their first three albums. It's just so unique and yet so listenable. 5 stars.
oh, wow. i really liked this! neon bible was beautiful, especially whenever unusual instruments popped up. "my body is a cage" utilizing the organ took the album's end to such heights. the lyrics can be moody (typical of indie music in the aughts!) but heartfelt. the album's theme was an interesting focus; i'm not sure if there's another album that covers television preachers like this. "neon bible" and "(antichrist television blues)" drive arcade fire's point home. if the album is to have any weakness, most songs do blend into one another. but i find it hard to mind when the album is breathtaking. i struggled to write this review, but i didn't mind listening to this album over and over.
Great album! It was full of some surprises! I love the indie feeling of the album!
I can't be objective about this band. This should probably be a 4, but I look at a lot of the other 4s I've given out and this is better than that, so... Best track: Depends on my mood. Today I'll go with Windowsill
This is great. Win Butler may be an arsehole (and some) but there's no denying AF's 2000's output
The list actually has Arcade Fire's first album, Funeral as the one to listen to. Unclear why Neon Bible is included on the list... Regardless, I am familiar with both. Funeral and Neon Bible both are 5/5. NB marks the tipping point to the steep decline of interest in their output as every subsequent release was vastly subpar compared to these two albums.
Lead singer is not a good person but if we separate the art from the artist, this album is perfect. They recorded most of it in a church and the sounds of the pipe organ juxtaposed to cautious lyrics about religion is executed brilliantly. It’s the best Canadian album about how fucked up America is.
Better than I remember, it's a really strong album. At the time it just felt like a step down from their perfect debut. Little did I know have far they would slide after this point
Probably my fav AF. I used to be a huge fan, now that I discover more music, I'm less impress. But I admire the fact that they merge a lot of genre and compete with pop artist in the last 2 decades and still manage to reach the tops mainstream charts
I'm really not a big fan of Arcade Fire's work, but I enjoyed this one. My favorite is The Suburbs and I quite dislike the others I've had the mischance to listen to. Anyway, glad I gave this one a chance.
My favourite. Pompous but with a purpose. I think they really did it right with that one. No dead weight like on the other albums that would follow.
Yllättävästi levy parani loppua kohti! hauskaa miten selvästi kuulee että levy on 2000-luvulta eikä vanhempi. 4/5
Siempre pienso que no me gusta Arcade Fire, pero creo que no le había dado una merecida oportunidad a este disco de corridito, y la neta es que es muy bueno. Debo decir primero que me zurra su voz y el estilo de cantar como muy grave pero a la vez muy adolorido. Es más, si cambiaran la voz a la de alguien más, tendría sin pedos la quinta estrella. Por otro lado, la música es en muchas de las canciones muy buena: bien cuidada, instrumentación interesante, detallitos que captan la atención, etc. Con esto, las que me gustan: Keep The Car Running, (Antichrist Television Blues) y No Cars Go.
Great album, enough variation to keep it interesting. Uptempo drumbeat contrasts well with 'bleak' sounding vocals. Organs, strings, horns on various tracks to make up for repeating chorus lyrics bore. Catchy standouts: "Keep the Car Running", No Cars Go".
I like this album and I've kind of always liked Arcade Fire even though when I think of them in the abstract, they seem kind of boring. A friend of mine had free tickets to a show of theirs, a big arena show, and invited me along. I went but kind of felt like it was going to be a slow evening. It definitely wasn't. It was a helluva show and they worked their asses off. The songs are all sort of big emotion songs, though I feel like if each one was just a few degrees off from where it actually lands, I wouldn't be able to listen to any of it. But this album in particular is one of their better ones and I've listened to it plenty. And I'll listen again, so - 4 stars.
Almost everything on this album is well done This album is really well orchestrated A lot of arcade fires music reminds me of a park hangout or something like that in a way, which I like I can definitely see myself revisiting some songs from this album 7/10
A really pleasant album for background listening. I very much enjoyed having it on while working. What kept it from being really great though was the lack of standout tracks or moments. The track that came closest was The Well And The Lighthouse.
A true spiritual successor to Funeral, just as anthemic and triumphant as ever before, while still experimenting with plenty of new ideas, some of which take some time to get used to. It doesn't have as many iconic classics as Funeral or Suburbs, but it's just as fun and vibrant. Yet it also feels pretty dark, in a gothic dance way, indicated by the opener (which sounds a lot like a track from Funeral), the album cover, and the cathedral orchestral instrumentation used throughout to amplify the dramatic effect. I was a bit disappointed with the direction of the songs, as they felt a bit too repetitive without much variation, which caused a lot of songs to merge together to me (save for the obvious differences in instruments or vocal styles). Still a fantastic album, and I'll still rotate it, but I consider it to be their weakest. Favorites: Intervention, No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage
Ovo mi je moguće najbolji njihov album. Tako da čvrsta četvorka, jer mi nemaju oni album koji bi mogo bit petica.
Funeral was always going to be a hard album to follow and with this they do well. Its it is still anthems at times but doesn't fall into U2 type tropes. The production by the band in a church) sounds authentic ( whatever that means!) The new tunes hold their own (tbpugh one is nicked from an earlier e p.) As strong as the debut. 4.
The worst of Arcades Fire early run. No Cars Go is fantastic. The rest is quite mixed.
Great album even 15 years on. Taking into account when it was written 2006/7 the messaging around the commercialisation and exploitation of Religion makes more sense in that context. The gloomy tone is helped by the usage of organ etc throughout the album. Intervention, no car go, my body is a cage, keep the car running some of my favourites off this album. Doesn’t get as much credit as it should, probably not helped by being the follower to one of the most acclaimed indie debuts ever.
Big sounds, really enjoyable, probably a lot more there with more listens. Still, just something kind of missing, but can't put my finger on it. Still, definitely will be revisiting.
Really nice experience. Loved two songs. Keep the car running, no cars go.
What a great album! Song after song picks you up, building up from a simple cell, adding layer on layer of sound and rhythmic intensity. Adding this to my own list of favourites!
Els canadencs estaven en un període on cada disc era millor que l'anterior. Si la seva estrena discogràfica els havia posat directament en primera divisió, 'Neon Bible' va reforçar encara més la seva proposta, i 'The Suburbs' els acabaria de fer un nom imprescindible del rock alternatiu. A NB junten algunes de les seves millors idees, i el seu millor tema, 'Intervention'. Vivien un moment on eren imparables
Je connais Arcade Fire, j'ai adoré Reflektor et The Suburbs. Celui-ci m'a toujours été recommandé et j'ai écouté 2 fois. J'adore, cependant meme après deux écoutes. Je vois mal la différence entre certaines chansons. Ca se ressemble beaucoup, mais dans l'ensemble c'est vraiment super. 4.15
Genre: Indie Rock, Art Rock Score: Decent 8 Favorite Songs: Black Mirror, Keep the Car Running, Intervention, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, Ocean of Noise, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues), Windowsill, No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage
"My body is a cage" TOP. Misto tra arctic monkeys e primi Mumford and sons
This is good. I like Arcade Fire. This album isn't as good as Funeral, but it has similar sounds, and it's still above average.
"Neon Bible" is the second studio album from the Canadian band Arcade Fire. They recorded this album at a church in Quebec and produced it themselves. The band used the song "Black Mirror" and a re-working of an earlier song "No Cars Go" as a starting point. They tried looking at America from an outsiders' view as a thematic perspective with the ocean and TV, particularly Evangelical preachers, also as themes and imagery. And, I would say they do it quite effectively. They incorporated a choir, orchestra and other less common instruments (hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, accordion and pipe organ) into the music. Some of those instruments play major parts. This album contains some of Win Butler's (lead singer) best lyrics. Arcade Fire's strengths have been they are good at building momentum within a song, ending majestically and creating almost anthems. I enjoyed this album a lot more today than when it came out. I think the music matches their theme as good as any of their albums. The album starts with oceans sounds on "Black Mirror" and builds with piano keys and the rhythm section. Kind of a haunting song about the uncensorship of TV's, phones-black mirrors. "Keep the Car Running" is another slow starter with strings and again builds into one of their more anthem-like songs. Great melody. Kind of Springsteen-like. I think he talking of paranoia and fear of pending things like death. The pipe organ plays a major role in "Intervention" giving a church-type feel. Obviously on purpose, since he's talking about political and religious hypocrisy. Again, a song great at building momentum with Win's and Regina Chassagne's vocals, strings and, heck, a xylophone. By the way, I'll always mention a xylophone if I hear it. A highlight of the album second half is "The Well and the Lighthouse" with an urgency in the music (bass, drums, guitar). A song about temptation and greed based on the Fable "The Fox, the Wolf and the Well." Regina's backing vocals are great again. One of the best Arcade Fire songs is "No Cars Go." The orginal version is very sparse. This version is their anthem. Strings, accordion, multiple singers, great lyrics. " Between the click of a light and the start of dream" --- reaching the perfect place. I gained a lot more respect for "Neon Bible." I think one of the reasons is that in their recent albums, they are almost too serious, both with their music and lyrics. They are serious in "Neon Bible" but they reach a great balance where it it isn't entirely overbearing. It's defintely up near their best with "Funeral" and "The Suburbs."
This LP has a big sound, with the strings, backing vocals and synths providing textures different than most indie rock. The lyrics are dark and the lead singer hasn't got a lotta range so it can get tiring after a while. Between a 3 and a 4 for me but I'll round up for the final 2 tracks, especially "cage".
Overall ey-Ok with some notable outliers. I really liked "My Body Is a Cage" as the final song. It has some "Dark" vibes 4/5
Had only heard the Peter Gabriel cover of My Body Is a Cage before, but this is pretty good too.
Sounds like a bunch of French Canadian theater kids made a rock album. I liked it!
4.0 + Part of what I think makes "Funeral" successful is that Arcade Fire somehow manages to harness their emotional and sonic intensity letting it spill over only at climactic moments. I love how that album propels you on a journey, leading with urgency, punctuating the trip with colorful bursts of ecstatic emotion (e.g. "Wake Up"). With Neon Bible, AF are mostly able to dial in all that energy but there are moments where the intensity proves more than they can handle, and they end up sounding overblown. First is "Intervention" where Win Butler lets go on the vocals, belching out sincerity over a massive orchestra and it all sounds like Bruce Springsteen at his sweatiest and most insistent (see "Born to Run"). Not my favorite. Second are the screechy vocals paired with synthesized strings on "Black Wave." Finally, I've always disliked "No Cars Go" - it sounds like a parody of 2007 indie rock. As a side note: why did so many indie songs of that era feature that group-shouted "HEY!" trope? (see also "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men) With all this said, I still really like this record, notably the three song stretch of "The Well and the Lighthouse", "(Antichrist Television Blues" and "Windowsill."
When I first heard this album when it was released, it was a bit of a let down from their debut, Funeral. It had a similar vibe and I to me, it felt like it could have been outtakes or extra tracks from the previous album. Putting that aside and listening again, it holds up well on it's own and live, many of these tracks are powerful and highlights. Still prefer Funeral and The Suburbs (both 5 stars), but Neon Bible is a pretty good sophomore effort and a lot better than what would come later.