Reviews (page 2 of 14)
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.
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)
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
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!
An album i had when it came out. With the kind of ambition, orchestration, catchy hooks and genre this should be something I really love. I just have never connected with it.
3.4 2x decent enough
Veldig bra oppfølger.
I want to like AF more than I actually do, this album in particular. Always ends up sounding more precious than urgent.
Vaca catch up
e had albums grow on me before. Sometimes it takes a couple listens, sometimes it takes a bunch, but I've never had an album grow on me as the album went on. If you were to ask me what my thoughts on the album were around the title track on my first listen, I probably would've said something like, "it's alright but I don't really get the hype for Arcade Fire." As I kept listening however, I really appreciating everything about it, especially the production. I understand why the production is a very controversial topic, as it may come across as overbearing to some, but I personally love how grand it makes the songs feel. If it was mixed to be lighter, I think Neon Bible would miss what makes it unique and engaging. Since I enjoyed this so much, I should definitely check out Funeral and the rest of Arcade Fire's early work in the near future. I'm certainly looking forward to it! 8/10 Favorite tracks: Black Mirror, Black Wave / Bad Vibrations, Ocean of Noise, No Cars Go
It's not Funeral by Arcade Fire, but then few things are
It was very experimental it felt like, very alt rock/pop. Not the greatest.
“They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity.” The Incredibles (2004)
olipas random eikä oikein sytyttänyt. Muutama meni listalle mutta taustameluksi jäi aika pitkälti
Really interesting arrangements, shifting instruments, rhythm and dynamic changes
Absolutely nothing of substance here. What a letdown
3.5
Senare grejer är bättre
Always better than I remember.
Ends incredibly strong! Unfortunately it has a limp middle
Rock music that didn't really excite me that much.
Yeah, not bad, a bit better than some of the stuff I've been subjected to here, but nothing remarkable.
This album has a lot of sentimental value to me, something about the overall mood and songwriting is still so evocative after hearing it for the first time freshman year of high school. Intervention, Antichrist Television Blues, No Cars Go and My Body is a Cage still give me chills.
4.5/5
I really enjoyed this album. His voice reminded me a lot of Bruce Springsteen. Fun!!
bu tarz rock sevmiyom
I guess I'm getting these Arcade Fire albums in reverse chronological order. I really did NOT like The Suburbs as it reminded me of everything I disliked about the millennial indie genre. Nevertheless I gotta hear this or drop dead on the spot. I think Neon Bible is sonically a much better album than the sterile soft shit that was The Suburbs. There's definitely much more going on with its baroque and 10-20% brass instrument infused wall of sound-esque production. I do not find much of the lyrics or vocal delivery of Win "abusive piece of shit" Butler. His ex-wife, for the half of one song she sings on Neon Bible, has a much nicer voice and leads me to wonder why 1) Win is still in the band as of time of writing and 2) why is she not singing more. It's all confusing until you find out they're French Canadian and that's just how shit goes down in Montreal. Other than the production being bigger and not so neutral and sterile sounding, I still found it difficult to enjoy their songs as it would be ruined either by Win Butler's singing or the too cliche for its own good 4/4 everything on the same beat so you know how a song can predictably go. I don't mind that for pop music, but this is meant to be a 2000s rock album. The first two songs are passable, then the self-titled Neon Bible is where it falls apart with the slow indie stuff I dislike. After that the album is up and down and ends on a lackluster note. Please just give me a single Modest Mouse album over this, those guys know how to compose a song to be rhythmically catchy instead of adding 2-3 notes on a xylophone for three songs. Just because the album has a number of string and bass instruments on it doesn't mean you should let out all that cliche indie songwriting to it. Feels like waste of potential for the album to be even better. Other than that, whereas I thought The Suburbs was shit, I think Neon Bible is simply okay. It's definitely for the hipster millennial indie crowd that I only qualify for one of those three adjectives, but it is still just not for my music sensibilities of prioritizing rhythm over songwriting and indie kitsch shit. If I was a music critic trying to write a fair review, and those fuckers loved this shit in the 2000s for whatever reason, I'd say the album is a fine 3/5 rating. It's not meant for my kind of weirdo music taste, it's for your bland but surprisingly only a little bit more interesting than expected coworker. Maybe if these guys were American they would have more jazz in them and Neon Bible could be as good as those Iraq war shellshocked music journalists from 20 years ago. With my own dislike of the genre and seeing not as much change from The Suburbs as I liked, it's a 2/5, but a better 2/5 than The Suburbs, which was a much worse album than this IN MY OPINION. Join with me for the last of the trilogy of Arcade Fire albums when I get to check out Funeral next, which is what my Arcade Fire-enjoying friends say is their definitive best. Wouldn't even be surprised if they're right.
It was fine...just fine
Was OK. I've never been drawn to Arcade Fire, nothing really stood out to me. Including this.
I enjoyed this a lot more than other arcade fire albums. Some of the songs had a lovely, haunted quality about them. I should revisit this.
Solidly my second favorite Arcade Fire album. Tracks 1-4 still hit so hard. "No Cars Go" remains my favorite, even if I'm still partial to the EP version. Maybe more like 4 1/2 but hey.
cringey
It’s alright. Some good songs.
my body is a caaaaaAAAAGEEEE don't like this as much as some of their other stuff.
A very solid album. Keep the Car Running was immediately playlisted. I also heard a ton of Springsteen influence on this record.
very arcade fire, but not sure i needed more arcade fire on this list.
I don't get the hype, and never got the hype at the time, for this band. I don't find any of it particularly "orchestral" and I don't see why they've had multiple albums here. One can represent 00s indie fine
it is different from what I expected and what I am used to. some songs don't really stick, while others, such as "black wave/bad vibrations" (personal fav) are really powerful
It's ok.
Meh
This is the worst era of indie rock
Might wanna revisit
This was pretty bland and generic.
This is the second album from AF on this list I've listened to now. I was only vaguely familiar before listening to these two albums. But I generally seem to like this band fairly well it seems.
It’s enjoyable but not their best album
Was pretty indie not bad but just gotta relisten with more intention, heard guy does sexual assault which brought it down a star
Arcade Fire never fails to deliver complicated themes in an epic, emotional, and powerful way. Love this album, 10/10
Nice post-2000’s music. Good to discover stuff I didn’t initially pay much attention to.
I had heard from friends that this band is good and after sitting through this album, I can confidently disagree.
One of the favourite bands of a great friend of mine! Actually it is really good album! Full of emotion!
hm, fand das Album nicht schlecht, auch wenn der Sänger ne leicht wehleidige Stimme hat. Fand den Sound gut
Nicht mein Lieblingsalbum von Arcade Fire, aber wie immer tolle Musik, insbesondere Inrervention und My body is a cage.
Ist okay, aber werde kein Arcade Fire fan mehr
Some great tracks and lyrics. It's an acquired taste but I've aquired it.
My first reaction to hearing this album is that musically, it kinda sounds like an indie Springsteen. That's not the case lyrically, though, which is fine by me. I did think that it was an enjoyable record, nudging itself just within 4/5 territory.
Beste van z denk ik
The concept is interesting and sonically this band is quite good. However, most of these songs are kind of forgettable in my opinion, nothing really stands out and I’m not a big fan of the late 2000’s electronic music era
5/10
Een erg nostalgisch album/artiest voor mij. Zoals vaders vaak nostalgie blind zijn voor jaren 70/80 muziek, ben ik dat echt voor 2000s millennial “optimism”. Een hoop ‘HEY! HO!’s en lekker dramatisch. Dat pakt me wel. Niet hun beste album en alle nummers lijken op elkaar maar BOEIEE het werkt wel voor mij.
Solid indie rock entry, right up my street, but objectively I don't think its anything I’ve never heard before in similar bands.
Not there best, but a solid very listenable album with one my favourite tracks on it
I want to really like this band, but there's something missing. A bit plodding at times. I would like to hear more melody from them.
4,5!! Super eingängige Melodien, auch sehr vielfältig! Erinnert manchmal an David Bowie ein wenig! In Teilen fast schon episch. Macht auch wirklich gute Laune. Texte wahrscheinlich auch gut, muss ich mir in Ruhe anhören!
These guys are just kinda The Tragically Hip but worse.
Was hard to separate the art from the artist at first, but eventually enjoyed going back to this one. Still their third best album.
Such a great album, it really was a precursor to all of the indi pop/rock we get today. I really enjoyed it.
Very compact album with great highlihts!!! Very Indie
Unfortunately I do really like Arcade Fire. I haven't actually listened to this album in full, I only knew "Keep The Car Running" and "No Cars Go" from this it is worth noting that the frontman, win butler, was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2022: https://pitchfork.com/news/arcade-fires-win-butler-accused-of-sexual-misconduct-by-multiple-women-frontman-responds/
There is something strangely compelling about Arcade Fire. So much so that I have acquired five of their albums without ever feeling that any of them - "Neon Bible" included - are absolute essentials. Perhaps it is the band's inherent sense of drama that appeals, or the subtle whiff of post-punk lingering in the arrangements. You can catch the occasional flash of Sparks' theatrical art-pop in a few tracks, alongside the unmistakable swell of a Springsteen influence. Whatever the secret ingredient is, it remains intriguing enough to keep me coming back - perhaps in the quiet hope that one of their records will eventually hit me like a runaway train. It hasn't happened yet, but Neon Bible remains a thoroughly enjoyable listen regardless. Four stars. 1 "Black Mirror" (4/5) 2 "Keep the Car Running" (4/5) 3 "Neon Bible" (3/5) 4 "Intervention" (4/5) 5 "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" (4/5) 6 "Ocean of Noise" (4/5) 7 "The Well and the Lighthouse" (3/5) 8 "(Antichrist Television Blues)" (4/5) 9 "Windowsill" (4/5) 10 "No Cars Go" (5/5) 11 "My Body Is a Cage" (4/5) Total - 43 Average - 3.9 405/1001 210/405 albums reviewed were new to me.
Fuck that opening song. Next three tracks all kinda bang. The rest of the way is good, meh, ooo nice, nah, sure, ugh, cool, it's alright. I think I liked it more than Funeral but I don't remember that album at all and probably won't remember this one either.
This is the second Arcade Fire album I’ve listened to on this list, and while I didn’t dislike it by any means, I’ve come to the conclusion that the band just isn’t for me. Listening to this, I was reminded of a 2020 interview with Black Country, New Road’s lead singer, Isaac Wood. He said that their goal as a band was to become the next Arcade Fire. While I haven’t really taken to any of their new stuff since that interview, I would say they’ve succeeded in their task, as their newer material is so reminiscent of the sound of this album - relatively nondescript Baroque Indie Pop. It does very little for me, though, and I found Black Country, New Road’s earlier work far more compelling.
This record is kind of bland considering the albums that were just around the corner.
Mid
Easily my favorite by the band. I find no fault here.
Wow. Definitely not my style and maybe they came out late from ‘80s pop. I kinda liked the title track, but didn’t get too far into it.
Neon Bible is a weird one, I love Funeral and The Suburbs but something about this record never appealed to me in the same way and this was the first time I actually listened to the album. I saw the band live on The Reflektor tour and the only song they played from this album was My Body is a Cage and it didn't really bother me that we didn't get more Neon Bible stuff. Intervention and No Cars Go are great but I do feel this sags a bit in the middle of the record and some of the magic of the first record just isn't quite captured here It's quite an unusual career trajectory to have your first album be brilliant, your second not quite as good, and then your third be back up to great again, but whatever Neon Bible's relative flaws it's a lot better than any music they are making now.
They did two good albums. This was one of them
Underrated Arcade Fire album.
Man, I just do not like arcade fire. There’s so much good in rock in the world, but this is not it. I could see an argument for including their first album “Funeral” but yikes. Not a fan.
I mean this album is fine. I don't mind listening to it but nothing I'm super excited about.
Not their best work but not unlistenable
Pretty boring, and increasingly annoying. Just move out if you hate it so much at your parents house! My body is a cage was relatable tho
Ganz nett, aber irgendwie anstrengend? Und weinerlich?
Absolute masterpiece
icl not a massive arcade fire guy
win butler you deserve to be slandered for being a sex pest but not for your very good music. i love canada
destul de bun. imi place ca e relaxant
Favorite track(s): Keep the Car Running, No Cars Go, My Body Is a Cage
Thought this was a fun listen. Not sure I'd come back to it but enjoyed the time I spent checking it out.
✓✓
I listened to this 3 times yesterday to see if I can figure out where I rank it vs. The Suburbs (it's obviously not in the same league as Funeral) ... I think I still like The Suburbs more, though Intervention might be the best song on either album. Anyway, it's peak Arcade Fire so it's great.
It's a solid album. I really only love two songs from it, despite already being a fan of the band. No Cars Go and Keep the Car Running.
This is a good album with a solid sound but doesn't hit the highs of an album like the suburbs, so makes me more inclined to not give it full marks.
nice
A more colorful album than funeral, but... idk, something is still missing for me. The songs feel weirdly hollow, like they're lacking some strong emotional backbone to keep them interesting. I also think that they lack detail or something to make them more memorable. Suddenly picks up tremendously with the last 2 songs, but it's a bit too little too late.
Good, nothing special.
I loved it at the time. It hasn't grown with me. It sounds too serious and portentous. The band just chug along, carried by the strings and production. Knowing about the singer's private life doesn't help either.
One of my favorite albums of the 00’s
Reminds me of a road trip. Very powerful, fleshed out songs. It sounds polished, but raw at the same time. Favourite: Intervention. Least favourite: Ocean of Noise.
If I had time to listen to this record more than twice it may have reached five star status. Impressed from the outset with the folk music earnestness of the songwriting meets surging drum patterns. On a second listen, the full thrust of power chamber music backing on several tracks impressed me. “Black Mirror” and “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations” soared at times due to the band members’ skills. Like a less funky LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire creates emotional pop songs that have layers of interesting elements crammed into them. What grabbed me was how integrated the orchestral arrangement, synths, driving drums and vocals were on most tracks. Win Butler’s voice does not instantly appeal to me, few do, but he sings with great conviction. I could be wrong, but I perceive that the subject matter seems to revolve around navigating the complexities of normal life when one is filled with angst. This mood gets a bit tiresome. By the closing tracks, “No Cars Go” and “My Body is a Cage” I was worn down. However Butler never falls into a woe is me whine. The swirl of backing instruments helps keep the focus from centering too much on the singer’s plight. For instance, “No Cars” pressed forward with its rising chorus and accordion sounds. The album lacks instantly memorable songs. I imagine no one song would dominate the fan favorite list. That is a sign of this album’s depth.
Etwas beliebig
The second studio effort from the not-so-little band from Montreal's Mile End that unexpectedly transformed indie rock forever. The sound on their sophmore effort is somehow even more sweeping and grandiose than the revolutionary debut, Funeral, but the sonic palette is also more restrained at the same time. Essentially, a select few elements from Funeral carried over to Neon Bible, and everything that did was blown up to stadium size. The songwriting and sequencing is much the same as it was on the debut as well, with the best songs bookending the first and last couple of tracks. In typical CD-era fashion, I find the album to be somewhat sunken in the middle as tracks blend into each other due to the more selective composition choices from the band. All this is to say not everything on Neon Bible hits, but the hits go very hard. Take the closer "My Body is a Cage" and the huge pipe organ crush of "Intervention," for example. Arcade Fire even proves they can still write more conventional indie songs as seen on "The Well and the Lighthouse" and the only song I recognized from this album "Keep the Car Running." The only song that really resembles what they had done before is "No Cars Go" with all its accordion melancholy and marching band buildup. It's a song that inches towards a Godspeed You Black Emperor type of buildup, which isn't completely far-fetched as funeral was recorded at Godspeed's H2T studio in Montreal. I feel like I've heard before, and not because it's the second car-themed song on this album. I don't have too much else to say about this except that this is a purer, more distilled Arcade Fire, a more straightforward interpretation of the band and the indie sound that marked a generation. Listen to Funeral for the full experience, and Neon Bible if you like only the biggest moments off the debut. Key Tracks: Keep the Car Running, Intervention, The Well and the Lighthouse, No Cars Go
Listens: 4 Standout Tracks: Black Mirror, No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage This is a 3rd Arcade Fire album on the list, and I think it's the one I like the most. Several really solid tracks on the album that I found both interesting and immediately catchy. At this point, half way though the List, I can pretty much tell within two listens of an album if this is an album I hate, am wholly indifferent towards, or thoroughly enjoy, and it usually boils down to: Do I want to keep listening to the album after two full plays? There aren't enough songs on this album right now to warrant a 5 from me, but I could see a retroactive 5 in the coming days and weeks if this album becomes a mainstay.
No Cars Go is quite good, but the rest of the album is a slog to get through. Had it as background music when working just to get through this one.
Альбом совершенно не произвёл какого-либо впечатления, но он не ужасен
The singer seems like he's going through some stuff. None of these songs excited me.
Big and Brash - put Fire on the map
I am not that much of an Arcade Fire connaisseur, but is this really an essential album. AF’s debut Funeral should be there, as should The Suburbs and Reflektor. This seems like the least memorable of their early work.
Super fedt album
Havde ikke hørt den her i for evigt fordi jeg plejer at sætte Funeral eller The Suburbs på i stedet. Det er egentlig en fejl! Det er en banger!
Really great album! All songs are super good.
pop demais, me lembrou imagine dragons. meio ruim mesmo. Definitivamente não é bom. Muito longe disso, na verdade. A única música que não é terrível é my body is a cage, eles até que conseguem fazer uma versão legalzinha e por isso, eles merecem uma estrela.
There’s better generic mid-00s indie rock tbh
I'm not sure about important or really doing anything new and exciting, but it's pretty dang good.
Critics seem to have confused "the popularization of indie rock" with stadium rock, which this is. It's fine. A couple of the songs meet its bombastic ambitions, but most don't and come across as overwrought and pretentious.
Cool album with some nice alternative rock songs. Saved one, but won't be coming back very soon.
this album slapped! never listened to Arcade fire before but I love the texture of their sound
album #105 this was pretty good! just didn't excite or pull my interest massively. nothing wrong with it, but nothing stands out either. ꩜ album rating: ★★⯪☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 984 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 49 ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 22 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 83
All songs keepers. Why shouldn't it be a 5 star? 11 keepers out of 11 (100%) 3 bangers [Intervention, No Cars Go, My Body is a Cage] (27%) 5 stars 127
Definitely co-worker core album. Didn't hate it but boy did I switch off it as fast as possible when it was over.
solid 4.0. Meu favorito do Arcade Fire
'Keep the car running' and 'intervention' are great songs. They produce that euphoric Arcade fire high. Unfortunately this album isn't as consistently strong as either 'funeral' or 'the suburbs' so make this a decent but distant 3rd best in their catalogue.
I really liked The Suburbs. There was something about that album that really worked well the songwriting was good. I have tried to listen to Neon Bible several times it’s good but doesn’t have the same magic for me. Keep the Car Running is good. I enjoy that song. I also like No Cars Go. Those are songs I remember. The rest don’t stick with me. It seems like they were trying to hard on some songs but again it’s a good album that if I sat with it a few more times would probably become a favorite. Too bad I won’t devote that time because the lead singer is kind of terrible.
Arcade Fire is cool but this isn’t as good as Funeral or anywhere close to Suburbs. Still a fine album
ganda capa fogo amei ser adolescente com esse album vou ouvir outra vez i gueeeeeess 1. ganda pianinho no refrão do black mirror + cordas???? MIRROR ON THE WALL SHOW ME WHERE THEM BOMBS WILL FALL 2. órgão no inicio da intervention???....... ta tudo bem???? 3. ganda transição pro ocean of noise goddamn........ baixo gostoso 4. começo do lighthouse........ NOSTALGIA a voz dele a mudar para a dela, as cordas a ligarem tudo lindolindolindo RESSURECTED LIVING IN A LIGHTHOUSE AMO ESTA PARTE 5. ouvi o antichrist television blues antes de saber o que era um blues :,) (saudades de ouvir música antes de ser músico) you know that i'm a god fearing man </3 my lips are near but my heart is far away / tell me what to say opaaaaaaa 6. MY BODY IS A CAGE THAT KEEPS ME FROM DANCING WITH THE ONE I LOVE BUT MY MIND HOLDS THE KEY EXAAAAAATO
Not as good as the other Arcade Fire album on here, but solid.
Started and ended strong, but the middle part is more of the boring alt-rock sound from that era
There's a couple tracks in the middle that I don't care for as much. But on the whole, I think the album is great and I loved the progressions that each of the songs would go through
Am I an Arcade Fire fan? All signs point to maybe.
Alas, I fear I will never be an arcade fire andy. This lands at a rousing 6/10 despite some neat moments, including the very Bruce Springsteen-esque (Antichrist Television Blues).
After three Arcade Fire albums on this list, I’m starting to think I don’t really like Arcade Fire that much. I’m not sure if it’s Win Butler’s voice specifically or the general vibe of the music but I just don’t get the popularity. I enjoy a couple songs out of their entire discography and outside of that they just kinda seem mediocre?
This sounds like the soundtrack for a suburban white teen coming-of-age movie. A bit too cheesy to my ears, though I can definitely see the appeal for those who can buy into it. Standouts: Black Mirror • Intervention
Hmm, I thought this was building into something unique and interesting but I have determined it was not. The first few songs got me excited that there was some kind of overall theme and that the album would open up, but instead it just kept doing the same stuff. They threw the organ in there once in a while to make you perk up but I've heard Funeral and I know they can make a more interesting album than this.
It's okay
I like keep the car running and intervention - I did just finish MASH though, so I'm a little biased in that regard. (antichrist television blues) is amazing as well although it's a little unsettling. Been googling the meanings of these lyrics, definitely want to hear more of this artist and probably listen to a few of these again.
nice enough
1/ intro sympa, sans plus on dirait muse 2 2/love l'instru,jdois m'habituer z la voix, on dirait les banners 4 3/soothing c'est mimi 2.5 4/ ghost??? L'intro à l'orgue omgomg et j'aime les lyrics 5 5/muse coded, neutre, rien ressenti vraiment 2 6/fun intro, ambiance cool très cool 4 7/cool song but mid bridge est sympa 2.5 8/ ça me fait penser à the cure 2 9/'I don't wanna live in America no more' is so relevant 10/ home by Edward Sharpe coded so good the live version must be amazing 11/ that organ. Ok gros slay En gros l'album mélange la voix de muse, le style de the cure avec une inspi de 'home' je capte pourquoi il est tant aimé 3.5/5
Buen álbum, buena producción, lo escucharía de nuevo
Bland and uninteresting
Decent but I was generally ready for it to be over
The muddy, distant mix saps some of the power out of it, but "(Antichrist Television Blues" cuts through the muck
Overall, this album feels like mega church music. There are a lot of dramatic musical elements, but the execution of these elements in some way feels soulless and shallow. Arcade Fire's sound feels dated to me. I don't enjoy Win Butler's vocals or lyrics, but that's just me. Songs I enjoyed were Black Wave/Bad Vibrations and No Cars Go. 2/5
This is a really enjoyable album!
I liked it, probably needed to listen to it a little more, good emo vibes
Great voice, I'll probably listen another album
This is the only AF album that I can listen to, the others are so average
This is my third Arcade Fire album from this list, all given to me this summer (I don't know how many more there are). The music is indie rock with a grand sound helped along by organ and violin. I liked "No Cars Go" a lot. The rest of it I found better than the other two albums.
An album too locked in to its self-importance. I don't like the male vocalist nearly as much as their female singer. A few pretty good tracks, all things considered
Grooves
honestly a little bit pretentious, “i’m not like the normies” type of thing. which means i would have loved it as a teenager and maybe if i didn’t know anything about win butler i’d like it today as well
Arcade Fire were a massively important band to me when I was in middle school, but even then I think most of the middle of this album made no impression, and it still doesn't. And now they have, uh, devolved. But I like the first 4-5 songs a good deal still.
Good
This was a great listen containing biblical themes and elements such as despair, faith, peril, and persistence. I enjoyed how the spiritual elements were combined with more humanistic and everyday perspectives within our everyday world, much like in the Antichrist Blues song. Just pretend you know nothing about Butler and you will see what I mean. Musically speaking, I also enjoyed hearing the grandiose and classical instrumentation clash with conventional arrangements like talented backup singers, guitars, and rhythmic drum beats. It made for a particularly enjoyable indie rock record. Definitely a classic that needs to be heard.
The suburbs is a 4 for me but this just wasn't really hitting the same spots
precursor to stomp clap music
this is an album that you appreciate for what it brings to future artists but listening to it now is...not good. It is dull but idk. In 2007 it was probably cool for some millennials. 2.
This was i guess inoffensive but largely dull.
I did not like this.
Working for the church while my family dies // Don't want to work in a building downtown - two lines I loved to think about as a 12 year old I am thrilled at the number of 2000s/2010s albums we've had in here recently and this was huge for me in 2007. This was where I first became aware of Arcade Fire, probably with No Cars Go. I felt like this was such a great moody winter album and I love the bombast (I remember how everyone felt about Arcade Fire last time so I'm not expecting much shared love). I think this was considered a less successful follow up to Funeral but I like how much darker this was and that it went deeper into religion and society (and whether cars go) (even though I still wouldn't really know what any of the songs are about. (Antichrist Television Blues), Intervention, No Cars Go, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations and Windowsill all sound so good and should be played as loud as possible.
There’s no feeling behind any of this and so it plods along uninspired
This is going to be a first time listen for this old timer as I kind of quit buying new release albums in 2004. Overall the album is fairly cohesive around it's theme of "Neon Jesus, undeliverance, uncertain future of America, GW Bush and the politcal cristian right", but there's only a few stand out tracks. I applaud the theme and the ideas expressed way more than I can admire the execution of it. Maybe it's "just of it's time" and doesn't have the legs to be great all time album now, 19 years later. 1. "Black mirror": OK, like the Charlie Brooks TV series? OK. (Oh, the TV series was named after that song? Wow, didn't think it was so inspirational. 2. "Keep the Car Running": first impression very positive 3. "Neon Bible": Really getting into the theme here. Good 4. "Intervention" : As above. 5. "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" ? Losing the theme in the first part, while the second part gets back on track I'm underwhelmed and wouldn't listen to it again. 6. "Ocean of Noise": Intrigued enough again 7. "The Well and the Lighthouse": decent enough song even if taken on it's own. 8. "(Antichrist Television Blues)": Chanelling Springsteen here - and I'm not being disparaging. 9. "Windowsill": Same, Springsteenish 10. "No Cars Go": This is it folks, this is the only song I've heard before. 11. "My Body Is a Cage": Potent song that kept fans enthralled no doubt, but the performance is a little weak. Do yourself a favour and listen to Peter Gabriel's cover version of it so you know who I'm comparing The Arcade Fire to as far as performance and engagement that earlier and older acts I prefer to listen to can achieve, this a a good test of apples to apples using the same song. As per my first sentences I ducked out of the new music world 2004-2012. Maybe I didn't miss much.
me gusto a medida que fue avanzando el album, me dio vibes a the cure no se pq
Never really knew anything about Arcade Fire before this except for their general popularity as classic indie rock. Pretty neat, very grandiose, didn't grip me initially but might with repeated listens
Athemic rock just doesn't hit my sweet spot I'm afraid.
i cant say anything bad about it, but also nothing was really outstanding. It was really neutral
Feel good rock
I liked it, but I almost preferred every other song. Like some were great, some were not great. Casey 2.75
Meh. Not bad. Not great either.
1. "Ocean of Noise" 2. "No Cars Go" 3. "My Body Is a Cage"
Solid indie. Good band / good album. 4
Did anyone else levitate during "Intervention"? Or even "The Well and the Lighthouse"? No? Just me? OK
No puedo ser imparcial porque es de mis bandas favoritas. Para mí es uno de sus álbumes más particulares, quizá el más “oscuro” (si no me equivoco, llegaron a grabar en el órgano de una iglesia). No creo que sea el mejor para empezar con la banda pero vale mucho la pena. No Cars Go tiene que ser uno de las mejores canciones en la vida para escuchar en vivo y cantar a todo pulmón.
Another album that I was hoping would be pull me into Arcade Fire, but this band just doesn't land for me. I do like the song 'Keep The Car Running', but i drifted in and out on this one too.
Oooo the most modern album so far. Exciting! Wow I’m catching up on all of this Arcade Fire drama. There’s a divorce happening. But the discourse is pointing towards nobody caring about the music because it’s boring and Win Butler’s behavior hangs a dark cloud over the discography. Anyway, Keep the Car Running is a very nostalgic song for me. I’m anticipating yet another 3 though because the rest of the album is quite middle of the road. What was with the obsession with glockenspiel in this genre and time period? Thank you!
As a millennial, I spent a lot of time listening to Arcade Fire. I was so excited when Neon Bible came out, but it mostly make me want to go back and listen to Funerals. That has not changed.
The sounds of the great recession. You know exactly what you're getting with this one.
Solid enough throughout, but I think it hasn't aged particularly well. Sounds much more generic now than it did when it came out, which I guess says something for their influence in a way.
LOVED this one. I thought I would recognize at least some songs, with them being Canadian, but I surprisingly didn't. Nevertheless, I really enjoy their sound.
not my vibe but cool
More pixies/springsteen influence than I expected; there are ok songs here but I think this band is overhyped
¿aún queda espacio para la fe en un mundo lleno de pantallas?
3,5 ⭐️ if I could give it. Enjoyed it quite a lot, has a lot of interesting sounds/instrumentals. But it’s like a little bit self indulgent and the lead singer doesn’t always work for me
Heard before?:❌️ Will listen again?:❌️ Millenial optimism forgot to take it's antidepressants. Endearing.
Pretty interesting darker sounding indie. Very cool guitar sound on Keep the Car Running that got me invested, but the opening Black Mirror was also a neat track to set the tone of the project. This explores themes topics that still sound fresh to this day, the aforementioned Black Mirror's take on technology especially rings true in the modern era. Did drag a it towards the end though for me.
Intervention and my body is a cage were both pretty s Good Overall: 3.5
Wow!! I love their music!! It picks up or slows down right at the perfect time. So good!! New favorite band. I can't believe I never heard any of their songs!!
Good album from Arcade Fire that are maybe mostly cancelled these days
This was okay. I think I liked it less the deeper in I got. First impression was “this is dope” — very 2000s and I’m here for it, reminds me of modest mouse. I like the mystical vibe around it. As it went on, it became very monochrome — all the songs bled together, it all felt like the same thing with different words. Definitely some good sounds though, and it seems this isn’t their best work, so I’d be interested to see a couple other albums.
4.4
It’s wild to me that this is the 2nd or 3rd album that I’ve seen on here from these guys . They are Canadian and you could ask the whole country to name their top 10 Canadian bands of all time and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would say these guys. That is no knock to them at all. It’s more of a crime I guess. This is another good one by them. Bravo
Nothing exceptional here, sounds like any pop rock record from the time
Love Arcade Fire, and this album in particular. Some incredibly arranged emotional bombast!
A major step forward, from an already perfect debut.
Was looking forward to this but I was pretty disappointed. Nowhere near as good as funeral
Neon Bible is the privileged, college-educated man's Born To Run. I love it.
“No Cars Go”, all-time banger
I completely forgot this album was between 'Funeral' and 'Suburbs' messing up my Mega Album idea (that 5 from each is the best mega album possible). This one has never done it for me. Reminds me of Flat Bruce Springsteen... "No Car Go" and "Keep the Car Running" were the best but not in my top 10 Arcade Fire songs. Loved seeing them live though!
Nice album. For me not the best of Arcade Fire. I wonder, why this is choosen for the list.
*siiiiiiiiiigh...* I used to be a really big Arcade Fire fan, and their run from Funeral to Reflektor remains exceptional. Neon Bible is a towering reflection of society post 9/11 (though it remains very relevant today) that can occasionally feel a little too "we live in a society", but it is one that manages to mostly wield a massive biblical sound and big themes without collapsing in on itself. Win Butler, what the fuck?
I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this album, and to be honest, after hearing the opening track, 'Black Mirror', I really didn't think I'd like it. I just found it a bit bland for an opening track, and that's arguably one of the most important songs on an album. I think the two most important tracks are the first and last. The first one sets the scene and expectations for the listener, and the last chooses how the listener will leave the album and what emotion they will feel when the album is finished. This wasn't worthy for the first track, in my opinion. 'Keep The Car Running' definitely kept me interested in what the rest of the album had to say... I really enjoyed it. 'Intervention' has such a beautiful introduction with the organs, and to be honest, it is gorgeous throughout. Having not listened to Arcade Fire before, this really was an interesting listen. I actually ended up loving this album. Yeah, it may have had a bit of a weak start in my opinion, but the rest was incredibly strong. I loved the mix of mood throughout; all of them work really well. Favourites: Windowsill Intervention Keep the Car Running Ocean of Noise
Pish! How do these albums keep making the list?!?!
i thought this band was bland and overrated when they first debuted, and it turns out i still do. i can't believe a guy who dressed like he thought he was jimmy darmody from boardwalk empire would put out a boring album. i would say "ocean of noise" was the best tune on here, but in an album full of unremarkable and unmemorable songs it gets lost.
good spooky soundtrack for a halloween party or maybe even a movie??
geese if they were good
Really liked most of this. (Antichrist Television Blues) stood out. I always forget about this band. I need to do a deep dive on them. 3.5/5
3.77
Not a fan
has the grand, dramatic sound Arcade Fire is known for, but I can not help but agreeing with rolling stone and Uncut magazine. Somehow distant and overblown. I’m torn between 2 stars or 3. 2 feels low, with 3 normally being my benchmark for whether or not I’d buy this on vinyl; but if I did actually own this I just would never elect to listen to it.
Boring indie slop, lyrics are awful, just uninspired and super forgettable. Like its fine?
I was too young to be around for the grunge era, and the early 2000s were just dogshit for bands/good music. I think that Arcade Fire were one of the only bands worth listening to during this era. They had 3 really good albums, and Neon Bible really captures the exhaustion people had with nearly a decade of war following 9/11. Good album, good band.
Great album. Nice vibe. Doesn’t go as high as the follow up album, but this album is great on its own merit.
The Netflix series Dark has a feature towards the end of each episode where there is a montage of what is happening with various characters running while an appropriately-chosen song is playing. There was one song I liked, and when I looked it up I was doubly surprised because not only was it sung by Peter Gabriel (who I assumed I didn’t like) but also because it was him covering an Arcade Fire song (who I know I didn’t like). The song was “My Body Is A Cage”, the closer from Neon Bible. Listening to it here in the original version for the first time, I was perhaps wrong about Peter Gabriel; less so about Arcade Fire. Admittedly I have a bias against the band. I saw them in a loft on St Laurent before they got big; I lived literally next door to them after they did. I didn’t think highly of them either musically or as people even before it came out that Win Butler was a sex pest. Musically, there was a point where indie rock as a loosely defined genre got big enough that bands could hope to play venues much larger than bars or clubs, and those bands just ended up being bland as fuck. I’m thinking The Arcade Fire here, The National, probably some other things that are escaping my mind at the moment.
I think it's a perfect album an all-time FAVE I should say
I feel like I should break out into a run during some of these songs. Solid.
Great voice but I only liked a couple of the tracks.
It's a 3.5 for me, because I know I enjoyed my time with the album, but I don't really remember any of the songs.
There is no perfect album (except maybe Disraeli Gears) but this is very close. Really good and an incredible time capsule of 2007. Saw these guys do a tiny show at the Beachland Ballroom in March 08 for the Obama campaign. Nothing has ever been more 2008.
Doesn't elicit an emotional response in me the same way Funeral did. I think this is because Neon Bible feels less consistent in tone from song to song.
Take me back to jr. high emo fr
Mid. Meh. Angsty.
This is like alt rock for drama kids. I'm not sure about it. I like how the songs build I guess.
Kinda regular, somewhat dispassionate offering relative to earlier records.
It’s funny that this record, essentially a critique American televangelist culture written by Canadians, would become the blueprint for a decade of ersatz Americana pop featuring glockenspiels and singalongs about how much we love ma and pa. I can forgive it because it’s a very good record, but it’s hard to separate from the legion of imitators.
Not so bad, a bit "backgroundy" but pleasant enough
mediocre hipster bs
I remember being disappointed with this after their debut, which IMHO was quite a bit better. On this fly by, I'm still not going with it but 'Windowsill' and 'My Body is a Cage' did stand out so maybe a few more visits are required. For now still a 2 though.
This rocks out and is catchy.
A bit repetitive hearing basically the same song for 47 minutes straight, but at least it’s a pretty decent song.
Man, I just cannot get into this band. They are so blase'.
I don't get it, i don't like this, it's very boring. And thanks to another reviewer the lead singer is trash.
bro ts sucks 💔
My favorite Arcade Fire album. Took a few listens to grow on me when I first heard it years ago, but several of the songs (Ocean of Noise, Windowsill, The Well and the Lighthouse) get stuck in my head regularly.
redelijk
Following Arcade Fire's breakout album Funeral, Neon Bible was always going to have a bit of a mountain to climb to have the same impact and whilst I think it's still a great album it doesn't quite have the highs to match. There's some really fantastic tracks here (it helps that it opens and closes well) but Arcade Fire's take on Springsteen-esque Americana doesn't always work.
Not bad, had an interesting sound. Not like a standout to me.
Glad I listened to it although it isn't my cup of tea. The only track I truly enjoyed was the final track, "My Body Is A Cage".
This album is off-the-charts pretentious, lyrically laughable (seriously, every lyric sounds like a reject from the Style Boyz’ “Incredible Thoughts” from Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), and repetitious in arrangement. Unfortunately, it is also emotionally overwhelming, melodically brilliant, and—above all—powerful. This is the band’s best album, in my humble opinion, because for once their Voice of a Generation schtick was matched with arrangements that, despite their saminess, practically kick you in the chest with how colossal they are. Do you like choirs? String sections? An ear-shattering pipe organ? Then you’ll fall in love with this record. You’ll hate yourself in the morning for it, but you will, and you won’t be able to help yourself. Best track: “My Body Is a Cage”
Äänikuva oli paikoitellen tosi iso, mutta vähän pitkästyttävä muuten.
Booring!!! ⭐️⭐️
Solid. You know, kind of brilliant and all that.
Красиво, по сути красиво