Neon Bible

I love Arcade Fire and I don’t know why I always feel self-conscious and in a defensive crouch about that, maybe it’s because they are sort of the epitome of prime millennial indie sound and everyone hates us now. I can’t help it though I just get swept away in the driving anthemic quality of what they were doing in this period, it’s a bullseye for the style of music I spent all my time with in high school and college. Doesn’t match Funeral for me but I could still listen to it over and over. This is probably closer to 4.5 stars tbh. I think it’s fair to roll your eyes at the self-seriousness of some of the lyrics but it was the Bush era and they weren’t and still aren’t wrong. You can absolutely hear the influence that spawned all kinds of lower tier imitators in the decade after and you know what? I like most of those too. I am cringe but I am free. Second act montage needle drop in my biopic: “Windowsill” (extremely hard to pick, almost every Arcade Fire song was meant to be in a movie)

so i’ve really slept on arcade fire so much until now. which is unfortunate because this is so very my shit right here. i think it might be a generational oversight but the only song i knew before from this album is no cars go (what a banger though, holy fuck, i’m a sucker for violins and a good HEY! in my pretentious indie rock) the rest is good too, i love that they recorded it in a church , i love that big wide open sound & the organnnn on intervention is delightful. and i love theatrical concept albums . definitely easy to see the influence this early arcade fire work had on bc,nr . everyone listen to ants from up there right neowww 3.5 for me!

Nice, very 00´s, very forgettable.

Production was decent but the vocals were absolutely not my cup of tea.

Review - Third album on the list I've heard that was recorded in a church - Presbyterian this time. Is it Bruce Springsteen for guys who can't deadlift? Yes. Is it brilliant anyway? Score - 8.5/10 Need to listen? YES

1.7/5 Another band I don't get the hype for. Boring and doesn't offer any real good songs.

Interesting album. I hadn’t really listened to it before. It’s in the middle of the rock part of indie and the stomp clap hey period. I liked it but I didn’t love it.

I missed Arcade Fire when they came out and when they were popular. Was certainly aware of them, just never bothered to listen to them. This is good music. Well crafted, good players. The lead singer has a nice voice. It's obvious that they take themselves very seriously. The production is good. Glad I listened to it, probably wouldn't ever come back to it on my own again.

I was the target audience for this album at its release. However I find it boring and pretentious. The singles are okay but it mostly sounds the same.

I like some songs by Arcade Fire. On this one “Windowsill” is quite good. Their sound is too subdued for me; it lacks intensity. I liked Suburbs better overall, but this album isn’t bad either

Not so much a sophomore slump as a pulling back of the curtain to reveal a lack of songwriting chops, an over reliance on vibes, and a dearth of melodic sophistication at the core of the band. Add to that the less-than-pleasant vocals and lyrics that are a fruitless search for meaning in pathetically non-specific darkness when they're not falling back on vague descriptions of unearned personal struggle and you have the full Arcade Fire experience in a nutshell. It's very telling that 'No Cars Go', one of the stupidest songs I've ever heard, was plucked from an earlier EP to be showcased on this record. Apparently, they consider it one of their strongest compositions. Any producer worth their salt would have insisted that the band throw all of these songs in the trash and start over.

Boring corporate rock for the flat white generation.

very much my vibe a little grudge but floaty

Biiseistä on vaikea saada mitään otetta eivätkä ne kehity oikein mihinkään suuntaan. Yritystä löytyy, mutta en vain jaksa välittää Arcade Firen musiikista yhtään. Liian "taidekoulumaista".

Not quite on the same level as The Suburbs, but still rather good. For me, there wasn't enough of that signature storytelling going on, or if there was I didn't find it impactful enough to stay with me afterwards. The songs are at least still catchy, containing plenty of musicality to sink your teeth into, and the vocal range is impressive. Not my favourite effort from Arcade Fire, but far from their worst.

First listen Saved 3/11 Top track: My Body Is a Cage

Not AF's best album, but still a really solid piece of art

Never listened. Expectations: Mid - Verdict: Good - Black Mirror reminds me in a strange way of a much more straight faced Ween track. Keep The Car Running has a certain kinetic energy and is a nice enough track. Intervention is a good song. There is something slightly sterile about this album that doesn't really connect with me. I do like Ocean Of Noise though. The second half of the album continues in a similar vein to the first. It's all pretty good but nothing really jumps out at me.

meh

great album! lots of very lovely sounds mixed in to the whole indie rock vibe. beautiful lyrics. just not my favourite ever

Indie rock/pop isn't really my thing, but I cannot lie, this is exceptional from a musical quality standpoint. It sounds like the vocalist is a real prick, but the music itself is pretty damn impressive. A little self-indulgent for my taste (as is most indie rock) but the sound and scope of this album is grandiose. Not something I'll frequent but I can understand the musicianship.

Not as captivating as later albums, but clear beginnings here of what’s to come.

Couple of the lyrics were nice but I didn't really feel moved.

Not my cup of tea. A couple of good tracks but that’s it.

Aktuell sind schlechte Zeiten dafür, Arcade Fire-Fan zu sein. Ich hab erst mit dem Nachfolger "The Suburbs" begonnen, den ich immer noch für ihre beste Platte halte; vermutlich auch, weil es sich hier um eine klassische Indie-Rock-Platte ohne diesen aufgeblasenen Sound handelt, den sie davor gemacht haben. Während ich mit "Funeral" bis heute nicht meinen Frieden schließen konnte, gefällt mir "Neon Bible" mittlerweile ausgezeichnet. Auch wenn sie hier ab und zu die große Geste suchen (z. B. "Intervention" oder "No Cars Go") steckt im Hintergrund immer noch ausgezeichnetes Songwriting, was dieses Pompöse rechtfertigt. Andere Songs wie "Keep the Car Running" oder "Windowsill" fahren dafür einen zurückgenommeren Sound, während der Closer "My Body Is a Cage" sogar ziemlich reduziert ist und gewisse Goth-Vibes versprüht. Auch gefällt mir die Zweiteilung in den Songs "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" und "The Well and the Lighthouse", die sie wirklich super hinbekommen. Abgesehen von dem ziemlich egalen "Ocean of Noise" ist das hier eine wirklich rundum gelungene Indie-Platte .

Das war absolut fantastisch. Der Einsatz der Orgeln fand ich sehr interessant, hat aber absolut gepasst und mit dem Rest super harmonisiert.

Das Album ist in sich konsistent. Mir persönlich ist es aber zu langatmig, die Musik an sich. Mir passiert da gefühlt zu wenig. Sodass es auch einfach eines von vielen sein könnte.

Schwierig zu bewerten. Das erste Album ist en 10/5 Sterne Album, das hier fällt dafür schon ziemlich ab. Ist an und für sich aber immer noch auf einem hohen Niveau, wenn mir auch ein bisschen zu lang. Dazu wegen des Frontmanns einen Punkt A-Loch Abzug.

these guys shoulda been one and done with the first album

No es su mejor disco y aún menos el que yo escogería para poner en una lista tan egolatra como pretende ser ésta… pero quién soy yo para opinar? Verdad? Sólo alguien que creyó que el creador de esta lista tenía buema cultura musical. Aún así se merece un 5 este disco 😑

Keep the car running, Neon bible and Intervention may be one of the best 3 song sequences on any album. This and Funeral are 2 of the greatest albums of the last 20 odd years in my opinion

Arcade Fire made some great music before we learned to hate them, but this is my least favorite of their albums.

excellentissime, j’ai peu de choses à dire, c’est magnifique

Nothing really that interesting.

I've never really gotten into Arcade Fire. For some reason, it's just always felt like they've been putting in more effort and energy than the quality of music is really worth. Some nice moments, but overall my mind wasn't changed.

Of the first three Arcade Fire albums, this is the third best. But still fantastic. Intervention is a song for the ages.

After Funeral set the indie world afire, Neon Bile was the most anticipated album of 2007 in the circles I ran in. While this was the perfect time for the dreaded Difficult Sophomore Album, Neon Bible is great start to finish. "Keep the Car Running," "Intervention," "(Antichrist Television Blues)," "Windowsill," and "No Cars Go" are my favorites, but it's all good. Boy howdy does the post-9/11 & Iraq War despair run deep. Too bad it was only a prelude to what would follow a decade later.

I bought this when it came out as it was hailed as the greatest album of all time, and I was deep into my second phase of being all over current music. I didn’t think much of it then. I listened to it for the second time ever today. I didn’t think much of it today, either. It’s ok. It’s not bad.

started off alright, but the more i listened to it, the more annoying the whole album became

leaves no impression intervention is cool tho

Pretty good 2007 indie album. I've heard at least one of these songs many times but I still wouldn't call myself a huge fan of this band and music.

Double Arcade Fire this month. Another solid album. Arcade Fire has a distinct sound. Definitely worth a revisit.

I like this a bit more than their debut. It's easier to defend, though it's overproduced indie which feels like an oxymoron. I can appreciate the direction the album heads in, the imagery, literally and metaphorically, it all makes sense and it helps a stronger message without feeling intrusive or rebellious. It's also the general shape of that specific type of music so the music itself blends, to me, into something somewhat forgettable. Maybe that's the Springsteen influence? Because it surprises me I find them so tolerable when they get inspired by these acts I don't think much of. 3/5

Okej je, najbolja je poslednja pjesma - My body is a Cage

Really nice

Black Mirror - 88 Keep The Car Running - 87 Neon Bible - 82 Intervention - 91 Black Wave/Bad Vibrations - 85 Ocean Of Noise - 87 The Well And The Lighthouse - 87 (Antichrist Television Blues) - 88 Windowsill - 91 No Cars Go - 87 My Body Is A Cage - 88 Neon Bible - 87

Not sure I get the wider picture but I like these guys.

Much preferred to their previous entry, and this is decent, but still something missing that gives these guys the "wow" factor for me.

6.5/10

At first I wasn’t sure where this would slot. I have heard it many times and owned the CD. By the end it had fully grown on me and is worthy of a 4.

okay pop off suburbs of montreal! ze québécois!

This was a decent album. After listening to three Arcade Fire albums, I’m still not sure why they’re held up with such high praise, but they’re not bad overall. It’s a blend of indie rock, baroque pop, and art rock. The production is dense and atmospheric, with a darker, apocalyptic tone.

intervention, no cars go, keep the car running, my body is a cage, black mirror good indie

As I'm listening to the first song, ,I can't tell if the production is unfocused and muddy or a genius, but I'm leaning towards the former. Second song is a lot more catchy though. A few songs in, and so far I don't love the vocal stack, but I like the singing and the lyrics a good bit. I kinda had a feeling this would be up my alley, because I think I recall them being a recent band, and as I've said many times, I'm very much a fan of 21st-century music. There were two or three weaker tracks, but the strong ones were pretty strong for me. I think I'm gonna give this album a four, even though it might be a three objectively, just to assert my bias for this generation of music

Can't really think of anything to add to what I said about Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs" (gave that one 3 stars; gonna give this one 3, too, and my comments are pretty much the same) -- except that I'm not sure that we needed to have even one Arcade Fire album on this list, but I AM pretty certain we did not need to have 2. Tempted to deduct a star here, for that reason, but I won't.

grandiose compositionally weaker than classical music and less catchy than pop. I guess that's why they call it indie; because it's not good enough to be pop I remember "Keep the Car Running" from when it came out. I'm not sure why; maybe because of the radio? I feel justified in not exploring their discography further. . . . I don't think sociopolitical arguments should be the primary focus of music, even if I agree with the ones here. I think delighting in sound should be the primary focus, but it's not here, to my ears

Not my fav of theirs but still good stuff

Solid

I’ve liked Arcade fire for a long time but hadn’t heard this album.

Missed this somehow. I recognize other band sounds in their music. Interesting.

muito gostoso.

Very cranberry juice, the strokes, pale blue, brown lipliner If the strokes wrote better love songs

Bland, Music for 00's indie kids who still go on holiday with their parents, and dont really like music very much, (but its nice to be in a gang isnt it) they probably also like The Killers and Bloc Party, high chance of veganity. A record to be ignored and or forgotten, which is fortunate.... Best track; couldn't say, i can't remember any of them 30 seconds after listening. It's not unlistenable, but why would you bother?

This used to be my least favourite of the Arcade Fire peak period albums. However upon a fresh listen on a Sunday afternoon sitting on the couch with the dog I must say I revise that. I really enjoyed this album from start to finish, probably for the first time in my life. Intervention and My Body Is A Cage are absolute bangers. A surprisingly healthy 4/5 from yours truly

I have this thing where i discover amazing music and then everyone else finds it, and then they become successful and i shun it. I've been doing it for like 45 years now. Arcade Fire were classic example of my preaching this amazing indie band, and then I think Suburbs is when they became massive and I started to sour on them, and I don't think I've heard any subsequent albums. In short, I'm a twat. I'm going to try and strip away my prejudices (especially given subsequent events) on every album, and starting with this, it's an absolute banger of an album. Every song is tight, well crafted, brilliantly executed, hook laden and full of euphoric highs. Lyrically it may be trying too hard to be anthemic, but they probably succeeded as you can't help but sing along to the repeated choruses. Best track...No Cars Go. The only weak track, weirdly enough is the title track. It's a 9 out of 10 but will err on generosity.

Nah

Favorite Track: Black Mirror

its pretty cool no cars go reminds me of the yellowjackets intro song

I like it, it’s good, but all their stuff is starting to sou d the same to me.

really fun and powerful album, this is such a blast to listen to. the slower songs are a great addition too, creating some incredible build-ups. my only mild issue with it is that it can be a little TOO overdramatic, at times.

good

This is another example of a fine album, but probably not in Arcade Fire's top 2 albums and do we really need more than those 2 on this list?

Mitään sanomaton

FRENCH JUMPSCARE MINUS ONE STAR oh hey these are the guys that made the suburbs !! love that song crap they made Laika too guess i know these guys more than i thought

Sounds like a band who has hit on a motif but run out of ideas. Strange that this is only their second and falls between 2 much better albums 2.6

Vocal production straight from hell… Why does the guy always sound so mushy? Why do his and the female singer’s voice on No Cars Go do not blend at all? I do not have the strength right now to type out all of my problems with this album, with Arcade Fire in general. Just know that I had a physical reaction when I heard that first HEY on No Cars Go - probably a trauma reaction because of all the Stomp Clap Hey that would follow in the years to come.

It’s been years since I revisited Arcade Fire’s sophomore album, which was never a favorite of mine. Funeral and The Suburbs meant a lot more to me as an emotional teenager, I guess, but I’ve now found myself warming to the more mature messaging and self-serious intensity of Neon Bible. It’s still far from their best, but given the slop they’ve put out recently I’m happy to sit and enjoy “Keep the Car Running,” “My Body Is a Cage,” or even deeper cuts like “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations,” all displaying some of their most lavish arrangements and darkest tones in their discography. You have to buy into it a bit because they take themselves *so* seriously here, but if you let yourself fall under the spell, you will feel the magic.

You can’t just put a xylophone on your song and hope to sound like Bruce Springsteen

I loved revisiting this one, it's still great. I remember the general consensus being positive, but feels like most fans gravitate to the one of the records either side of this.

maybe nostalgia blinds me but this album is so damn good

Another biased review because this album was the one that actually got me into listening to albums as complete works. I still have powerful emotional reactions to most of the songs on this record. My Body Is A Cage is one of the most powerful album closers ever, and Neon Bible perfectly encapsulates what it is to live in the neon buckle of the Bible Belt. 9/5 no other notes.

This was a very enjoyable listen and will listen to their other albums

Liked this a lot. Good rousing anthems and slower numbers

A little cancon while I watch Canada try to end England’s 39 match winning streak in women’s rugby. I don’t really know the rules of rugby and I don’t really know what’s going on in much of this album 3.5

3,9 Highlights: No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage

feels weird to write “this doesn’t live up to the hype” and mean it as a compliment, but I only knew of this band as the annoying hipster band obnoxious people like. And maybe it is that, I don’t know, but I enjoyed listening to it. Reminded me a little of bands like The Protomen, Mission UK, faint elements of Chvrches. I’ll be looking into their other albums once I’m not two weeks behind.

I dont like it as much as funeral but its aight

Loved this album, probably a 4.5 to be exact. The instrumentals are stunning, especially the amazing organ playing all over this album. Torn between “Intervention”, “Ocean of Noise”, and “(Antichrist Television Blues)” as my favourite song on the record.

good vibe

Very good album very good band. A mid foothills.

spooky, arcade fire lowkey pretentious

(must separate the art from the artist, must separate the art from the artist) But, damn, this is pretty good. The songs are well crafted.

so freaking boring

A note to all up-and-coming bands: if you're ever in a position where you're asking yourself if this song needs a children's choir, the answer is always no. Aside from that lapse in judgement, this is easily their best album.

It's halfway to ho hey music (quite literally, has those gang vocal hey's without the ho's) but saves itself from going full stomp clap. The themes remind me of Infinite Jest but don't quote me on that because I only got through 300 pages.

Couldn't resonate with this all that much even though I'm sure it would really be nice while on vacation or something. I didn't actively dislike what I was hearing aside from the HEYs.

Really liked this album. It had a grand rising vibe that I was really into!

Guy whose only ever seen Cars (2006) - this album would fit so well as the soundtrack to Cars (2006)

at the beginning i was like ok mid….. but then i started liking it…… 3.5

im still vampire lestat pilled from a few months ago now and i think about Him whenever I hear french in songs..... good though! Fun album, somehow I've spent pretty much no time with this band other than their song Sprawl II which I love, it was neat to hear more of their music. Sometimes I feel like I can hear this band containing the prototype that later turned into stomp hey and its scary. its good when they do it however. likelihood that the members of this band lezzed out IMO: 4/5 they're french (canadian), I can feel the energy