Neon Bible

Hipster Bruce Springsteen goes to church.

Arcade Fire was on my listen to more thoroughly list anyway, so if this is regarded as one of their better albums it's a good recommendation I think.

Still solid, I think I prefer Funeral or Suburbs but I like this a lot. Favorite tracks: Intervention, Windowsill.

A solid album with a not-insignificant amount of nostalgia for me. Doesn't hit the highs of Funeral (my favorite/most nostalgic Arcade Fire album), but certainly has some great tunes.

No. 51 Never listened to a full Arcade Fire album before. I quite liked this. Good energy and vibe troughout the album.

8/10 Favorite: Black Mirror

Maruska would approve, kinda musical-ish Enjoyed it

it takes me a while to really pay attention to lyrics in music but whoa some of these lines just really jumped out, can't wait to relisten and relisten my body is a cage is crazy where have you been all my life

Passion and indie zeal

Saved by the last few songs

This album still lives in St Andrew’s. Upstairs at the Whey Pat I think. Somewhere on that street. Coffee with Cat

Seems quaint we used to be scared of evangelists. Now they seem small beer compared to the absolute shitshow the worlds become. Cracking tunes.

i mean i really like it like my body is a cage is literally a dyphoria anthem and im enby 4/5

Its good though I remember liking it much more when it first came out so a nostalgia star!

I really really liked this this. Window sill hit the soul

I think I audibly sighed when I finished rating yesterday's album and saw that I'd be listening to another Arcade Fire LP just a few weeks after getting Funeral. I was fully prepared to get a second heaping dose of pretentious indie rock from the guys who thought they were being clever by clowning on Daft Punk at Coachella 2014. However, in the weirdest twist of fate, Neon Bible ended up actually being pretty good! There are definitely some duds here & there and it's a bit more "stomp clap hey" than I would like at points, but there's some genuinely good music here and it's a lot more approachable than I expected it to be – more than half the songs ended up being highlights on my first listen. Outside my enjoyment of the songs individually, I also just feel like this LP paints a better picture than the previous one. The title, lyric themes, instrumental choices and recording location work in complete harmony together to create a one-of-a-kind album that I can definitely see myself coming back to (even if this style isn't usually my cup of tea). Hopefully The Suburbs ends up being just as good! Highlights: Keep the Car Running, Intervention, Bad Vibrations, Ocean of Noise, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues), No Cars Go, My Body Is a Cage

Really grew on me.

Really cool album, a solid find! Excited to hear more of their other stuff on this list. Easy 4 stars

Never heard this album or artist before. Enjoyed it!

Enjoyable enough for two plays, but not remarkable enough for five stars.

Mit dem Album der Band hatte ich mich noch nicht beschäftigt. Gefällt mir jetzt auf Anhieb sogar noch besser als "The Suburbs". Bei der Gelegenheit gebe ich mir gleich auch nochmal "Funeral". Wobei die hier wahrscheinlich ohnehin noch kommt.

This is a pretty big step up from their debut album. Their sound is more fleshed out and every song is great. This sounds like music I'd put on in my spare time. Maybe a couple songs here can find their way into my personal playlist. Who knows!? Arcade Fire is pretty good.

Every now and then a band comes along that seems to do something a bit differently and gives you something you've not quite heard before. Arcade fire ticks that box for me. Such an expansive sound and so much meaning squeezed out of every track. In fact, my only criticism is that sometimes they maybe try too hard and come across as a bit "holier than thou". Arcade fire came along at prime music discovery age for me. They were played a lot in my uni digs and I saw them live at that time, so there are some added nostalgia marks. This isn't their best album but still a goodun with a couple of my favourite tracks.

This isn't my favorite arcade fire album. However their influence on early 00's indie music can't be denied. This is a really strong album. 4/5

I originally wanted to give this a 3--after a first listen, I didn't really feel attached. But it continues to get deeper after multiple listens, and now I'm hooked. "Ocean of Noise" spoke to me and now I can't go back.

Pretty good concept album with good themes

My favorite from Arcade Fire. Solid album front to back

A tough one. This is my personal favorite of the Arcade Fire albums I've heard but it's by no means perfect. I had to break it down song by song: Amazing - Black Mirror, Neon Bible, Ocean of Noise, My Body Is a Cage Good - Intervention, Bad Vibrations, The Well and the Lighthouse Meh - Keep the Car Running, Black Wave, (Antichrist Television Blues), Windowsill Shit - No Cars Go On one hand Neon Bible absolutely nails the bookends with Black Mirror and My Body Is a Cage which gives it a leg up, but between those 4.5 songs are "good" and above, and 4.5 songs are "meh" and below. All around it is an inconsistent album with high highs and some lows, but at the end of the day I keep coming back. 3.5/5 -> 4/5

I was very familiar with this album. Played it quite a lot when I first came across it. Some great songs, some so-so. Probably expected I’d give it a 5 stars when I first saw it on my feed, but this listen had me thinking it was a step below some of the 5 star albums I’ve reviewed recently. 4.5 rounded down.

I didn’t mess with the Arcade Fire when they came on the scene. I was just trying to get myself extricated from the nu metal scene, so Arcade Fire to me were part of the new folk rock revival that was lame. Turns out I was lame because I’ve heard two Arcade Fire albums now and loved both. I listened to Arcade Fire's second album, Neon Bible, and for a second album, it’s huge. Usually, you think of a sophomore slump when it comes to music or even sports, but Arcade Fire went into the studio with a plan and the plan was bigger and more. The album was recorded in a renovated church, while their first album was recorded in an attic, essentially. The album was written by the Arcade Fire leader, Win Butler. Butler was born in the U.S., but had moved to and lived in Canada for a long period. After touring the U.S. in support of their debut album, Butler wrote Neon Bible as a kind of outsider’s view of what was going on in America at the time, which seemed to be a lot of fake religious people and scammers. As I listened to the album, it seemed the songs just kind of got bigger and bigger as it went on. More instruments were added, and the songwriting was more bombastic. At the end of the album, I felt a little blown away, shellshocked. Like that was a lot from an indie band from Canada, but even by the time Neon Bible came out, I feel like Arcade Fire had wrested that era’s crown away from Mumford & Sons, who were also huge then. Reviews for the album were mostly glowing, though some felt the production was a little overblown, and I get that. This is a big album. Win Butler was swinging for the fences. I feel like he hit a home run. I listened to the album that came after this called The Suburbs, and I don’t feel like I had the same kind of reaction for it as I did to Neon Bible. I remember liking The Suburbs, but this album is more over the top, more Bruce Springsteen/Jim Steinman-like. If you aren’t familiar with Arcade Fire, I’d recommend starting with this album, at least of the two that I’ve heard. I assume their debut album, Funeral, will be on this list as well, but Neon Bible has everything you want in a rock album. It’s got the bombastic pompaucity and the nice introspective moments too. The musicality is off the charts as in one song you’ll get a horn section, in another a hurdy gurdy and another a symphony. I think I’m officially an Arcade Fire fan now.

This was a fascinating listen that I will certainly be returning to. The song structures are solid and create a huge sound that seems best suited for a large arena. The songs are infectious, and it's easy to get lost in the rhythm—I often found my head involuntarily bobbing and foot tapping. Musically and lyrically, the album channel the grandiose scope of U2 and the critical commentary of Springsteen. Strong 4, for sure.

8/10

9/10 - stunning album, profound lyrics and vocals, adding that signature arcade fire harmonic sound, brilliant.

2010 me would've found this revolutionary, I wish I could send this rec back in time to her because I can't super appreciate it now. She did listen to My Body Is a Cage though, so not a complete regret.

7 - GOOD

Dark brooding feeling, good production, very fun to listen to

I'm having a bit of a hard time trying to put words to how I feel about this album. My knee-jerk reaction is to, in a complimentary way, compare them to Coldplay, but I don't think that's really all that accurate. This is much less "fake", but I'm not sure what I mean by that lol. I think the best thing about this album is that it is really full and grandiose. Most of the "white space" of the album is used for effect. Otherwise, I'm pretty certain there's always something going on, without every really being overwhelming. Arcade Fire is the golden child of 2000s Indie Rock, but I just don't really get the greatness/fame some put on them. It's very good, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure any of their albums will end up in my top 200 or so at the end of listening to all these albums. Favorite Song(s): Keep the Car Running, Ocean of Noise

This indie rock album feels like standing in a cathedral built from static and stained glass—majestic and immersive, but heavy with the echo of its own despair.

We backkk!! Sehr sehr indie – sehr sehr cool. Fangt eher langsam und ah aber hine use wirds würkli recht guet. Standout tracks: Windowsill & My Body Is a Cage

I haven't listened to Arcade Fire much, although I did see them live at a festival. I like the music and I think that the album requires/deserves a lot more listening.

8/10 Favourite: No Cars Go Least Favourite: Neon Bible

A good friend’s favorite album by his favorite band, let’s see how it goes. It’s just like all of them say, indie pretentiousness over church music, but it’s really good. A lot of this oddly reminds me of Springsteen in a way, if he loved organ and reverb. I don’t know that I’m a converted arcade fire fan, I do love suburbs, but this is on a level below that for me (and even suburbs drags on way too long).

7/10

Yeah pretty good this one. Had seen the cover a few times on the past but never paid much attention.

Gosh, this brings me back. I was *so* into Canadian music when this came out…. It’s not the band’s best album. At all. But it’s strong from smart to finish, and “Intervention” is a helluva song. Probably 3.5 stars?

Loved it

I liked it but it was maybe a little too long. 3.5/5

Only knew one of their songs before this, but this is a solid album.

I was hesitant at first, but this was actually a lot of fun. It was very dark, but also very entertaining. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The instrumental parts worked very well. This is a very cohesive album. I was humming a lot of rhythms after it finished. This is actually a 4.5. Liked Songs: "Black Mirror" , "Keep the Car Running" , "Intervention" , "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations" , "The Well and the Lighthouse" , "(Antichrist Television Blues)" , "Windowsill" , "No Cars Go" , "My Body Is a Cage"

Very much enjoyed it, really does feel like listening to a neon bible

This would've gone triple platinum on my iPod touch when I was younger. I still like it but the pacing's a bit weird and the lyrics are a bit boring.

I had great memories of this album but with this recent listen maybe it doesn't shine as well anymore. It's still really good and a good sound, but something of the magic hasn't been retained maybe?

I think of arcade fire as now, but this album is from 2007. Likes it

Really good album. Loved windowdill and Antichrist Television Blues.

Didn’t love this quite as much as Funeral but Arcade Fire is one of my favorite previously unknown artists I discovered through this project. 4.5 rounded down.

We gave Funeral 4.67 (yeah, I was the 4), and The Suburbs 3.67 (I wasn't the 3). This isn’t quite as good as the other two, but still an easy 3.5 roundup. Maybe I should listen to them more often.

Like the first four songs (especially keep the car running), like the last three songs (especially my body is a cage—I hope somebody got to be surprised by the drop today), despise the stuff between.

I don't think I've listened to this one of theirs before. I like it.

Strong but not overwhelming, milquetoast in parts. Enjoyable! 3.6

Aside from the fact that Arcade Fire are gross, this felt inessential. Some good songs, sure, but like The Suburbs is all you really need.

Takes me to the early 2000s, being in a dirty indie club with sticky floors and being drunk on Jack Daniel's. Great memories. Good album.

A solid 3. Maybe 4. Leaning towards a 4 and will listen to it again.

Surprisingly good album. enjoyed every second of it.

Another band I've always been meaning to check out but haven't. Arcade Fire came onto the scene at a time where I was no longer really listening to the popular music of the time. I'd moved on to older music because nothing on the radio was really grabbing me anymore. It was basically pop/RnB/Hip Hop and Blink-182's wide breadth of imitator pop punk bands. So I'm actually pleasantly surprised to find that i don't mind 'Neon Bible' at all, and that I probably should've paid more attention to them at the time. The impassioned vocals of Win Butler, the rousing choral arrangements, the clever implementation of strings, synths and organs, 'Neon Bible' sounds exactly like its title: gospelly, yet drenched in a technicolour presentation. 'Neon Bible' was, in fact, recorded in a church-turned-recording studio, which makes the sound and title of the album rather unsurprising. I'm notably critical of 2000s indie rock (The Strokes in particular), but there's something about Arcade Fire I connect with. Perhaps its their ability to push the limits of the genre to match their own personality. Songs like 'Black Mirror', 'Intervention' and 'Keep the Car Running' present very different dimensions of the band, and there's a clear admiration for The Cure, Joy Division and even David Bowie in many of the songs. I dig the groove of 'Neon Bible', and Arcade Fire's definitely a group I'd be keen to explore further! Best songs: Black Mirror, Intervention, (Antichrist Television Blues) 4/5

I really liked this

Super solid record. I sometimes forget how solid this one is because it was sandwiched in between Funeral and The Suburbs, which are both great in my mind. For some reason, I’ve regarded Neon Bible as a lesser record, but it hangs in there with those other two records just fine. Glad I got the chance to related to this one. 4/5

This is a dark record - dark lyrics, dark album artwork and a dark intense sound. It works brilliantly when they connect with a tune that matches the scale of the arrangements, or where they take a sidestep into something looser. I think Suburbs (prev. reviewed) is in fact their masterpiece, and there's a bit more light let in.

I liked this when it came out and it still holds up and sounds good. Love how simultaneously grandiose and intimate the songs feel on this album. Some great tracks: Keep The Car Running, Intervention, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues), No Cars Go, My Body Is A Cage. Was never a rabid Arcade Fire fan like others I knew at the time, but there’s a lot to like here.

Love how big they always sound

Not my favorite Arcade Fire, but it’s really great.

Surprisingly good!

Good album with No Cars Go as an absolute orgasmic banger

Listened to it twice. Enjoyed it to the point where I added it to my buy list.

Not as good as the masterpiece Funeral, but It is a very nice album

This album was my first introduction to this band. And for the most part I like it. Intervention is probably the best song on here, maybe Keep the Car Running. Windowsill is interesting too. 3.65 / 5 stars

Reminds me of my senior year of high school, and my crush who was super into Arcade Fire and always had one of their songs as his Myspace profile song 😂

Still like arcade fire, slightly less than the first album I got!

Pretty good they’re a bit pretentious and overrated but this album was solid

Very good, started slow but grew into it

Really good. Great flow but not repetitive.

Very funny to get 2 Arcade Fire albums in the same week. Funeral is one of my favorite albums of all time; I enjoyed Neon Bible as well, but not the extent I enjoy Funeral. There’s a lot to love on this record, but I don’t think it captures the raw emotions or the highs and lows you get on Funeral. Good instrumentation and production, but this is not a 5 star like Funeral is.

Two Arcade Fire albums in a week! And possibly the best two? Neon Bible is darker, moodier and more fully-realised than Funeral and for my money it's a better album for it. The track sequencing always puzzled me though. You have this fantastic moody, looming opener, Black Mirror, which sets the tone, then one of the album's brightest moments in Keep The Car Running brings the tone right up, only for Neon Bible and Intervention to drop it back down. I realise it's a bit sacrilegious to mess with the order of a concept album but I much prefer it with those three tracks reordered. Housekeeping aside, where it does benefit from being fuller and more focused than its predecessor, it then suffers from feeling overblown at times and losing the carefree rawness. I also feel like there's a tendency for tracks to start to blend into each other and the formula gets repeated a little too often. I listened to this album a lot when it was new but I still had to check the names of basically every track outside of Keep The Car Running, which to me speaks to it lacking a bit of variation and range? It's probably just an example of art being subjective and where my head might be tempted to consider 5 stars, my heart is saying 4.

Great follow up to Funeral, I enjoyed this a lot at the time.

Neon Bible takes the grand, emotional sweep that Arcade Fire built on Funeral and makes it darker and heavier. The songs are full of drama, with organs, choirs, and big, booming arrangements that feel almost apocalyptic at times. Tracks like “Keep the Car Running” and “Intervention” carry that urgent drive, while “No Cars Go” brings back one of their earlier songs and turns it into a soaring anthem. What stands out most is the mood. The album feels like it is always looking over its shoulder at something ominous, but it never loses its sense of momentum. The mix of intensity and beauty keeps it engaging, even when it leans into theatrical excess. Neon Bible might not be quite as immediate as Funeral, but it has a weight and presence that makes it a powerful listen, the kind of album that sticks with you after it ends.

No täähän olikin sitten tuttu jo ennestään. Iskee vanhaan indiediggariin ku nyrkki perseeseen! -M

I forgot how much I like this album. Taking off a star for the sex pest allegations. Otherwise, this is so beautifully crafted.

Not their best

Funny, I do reckon myself at times as a walking music encyclopedia, but being only human, I do get it wrong sometimes. As for this band, somehow I convinced myself that they were a new band at the time of their record "Everything Now" in 2017. To my surprise, I just learned today that they had been active since 2004. Oops, never mind, I did like "Everything Now" when it came out, and although this album is less electronic, it's undeniably Arcade Fire. The tone is definitely more somber, and the arrangements more theatrical, with influences varying from Bruce Springsteen ("Intervention" and "Antichrist Television Blues") to New Wave acts like Cocteau Twins on the first part of "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations", or Interpol on "The Well and The Lighthouse". Not a great discovery per se, apart from the fact I was totally wrong, but a very decent album still. 4/5

I had this already. I remember trying to get into Arcade Fire back in the day and it wasn't hooking me. I really liked this one. I liked this era of music. It was right in my time too. I will have to go back to Funeral and see if it seems better now.

Have listened to this album many times before, enjoyed it then and still enjoy it now. In the first instance you would think it is some wanky french-canadians wailing pretentious indie which to an extent it is, however the album is solid and there are some big highlights with Ocean of Noise and in particular My Body Is A Cage.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would

Great album. Complex, a definite vibe.

Solid album, but I expected more dynamics and variety. Has some really great songs though

“Indie band makes Springsteen record” is a pretty cliche process today but back in 2007 it was a novel concept. The Arcade Fire were the most successful collective-turned-band of the era and this was in the prime of their run, before their leader was found to be a sex pest. But this still holds up remarkably well, a real meditation on the lies told during the Iraq War, the entrenchment of faith in politics, the growing global unrest at economics. It’s not particularly groundbreaking but the songs are expertly crafted and the album sounds magnificent for its time. But it is derivative, and the songs do start to bleed together by the end, but the band’s ambition and scale win you over.

My previous experience of Arcade Fire was "We Used To Wait", connected to the HTML5 experiment with Google, so this was an interesting starting point for them. An enjoyable album overall, particularly the tracks with titles about cars! I will have a listen to more of their back catalogue because of "Neon Bible"

Fun bombastic arcade fire album. 4* Highlights: keep the car running, no cars go

Maybe this album isn't a 4 but it's a 4 to me. First time I heard Arcade Fire was this album and it was so weird and different. Still a great listen.

I got The Suburbs earlier this week and it still hit, but this one really doesn't hit at all anymore. Weird.

These guys were all over during my middleschool years. Two of the songs on her were pretty big but still not even their biggest hit. Solid consistent album that gives 80s Bowie vibes at times while still sounding modern. 8/10

Classic indie album.

I liked this better than the last one on this list. Not sure this band needs multiple records on the list but here we are and I liked this record. Some good upbeat songs, interesting arrangements. Good stuff. I’ll give it 4 stars. Why not life is good.

Not Bad

4.5

I really liked this. Didn't have enough chance to listen to it through closely to fully form an opinion, but I want to give it a closer listen. I did enjoy that it's a concept album. Musical variety and production quality were great. Didn't immediately jump out as something obviously super special. But very good.

I do think this is Arcade Fire's best album: grand, ambitious, and unafraid. But alas

Arcade Fire are just the masters of Indie Rock Music.

Fun time overall.

This is good. These guys seemed exactly what I should be listening to as an indie hipster at about the right time but I somehow missed them. I hear that there is a kind of country-ish feel about some of it that maybe put me off on a superficial level? Ocean of noise is particularly good - that's the one that made me see the quality of the rest of the record

Not sure it is something that has to be listened to and doesn’t really do anything new beyond what they did before, which was hardly revolutionary. However, No Cars Go is my favourite track of theirs so I am giving a bonus mark for that.

honestly liked it more than i expected to

it was good but not that good and some songs were not good

Arcade Fire's first 3 albums are still bangers, even 20 years later.

More nostalgia fuel. Those first three Arcade Fire albums were so good. I’ve always loved how on this record they sound so cataclysmic at times as if providing the score to an Alex Garland film. They find a beauty in devastation in a way that’s heartbreaking yet inspiring. The songs sound so urgent yet timeless with as much lyrical relevance today as it was the day it was released.

I have never listened to this album. I listened extensively to Funeral, to the point where I never wanted to hear another Arcade Fire song. It has been a couple of decades, so I think this will be ok. I immediately am interested after hearing the first song. I'm rather enjoying this album. It takes me back, just their sound and vocals, to my mid to late 20's. Kind of strange getting nostalgia for something you've never heard. Anyhoo, this is a well produced album, or at least better than the one before it, and I'm glad I heard it. I'll give this a 4.

Loved it. Took me back

Not listened in the last 3 years, happy return to this for me.

If Reflektor isn't on here I'm gonna be so mad

Very enjoyable listen. I liked the layered sound and variety of instruments. Favs were “Keep the car running”, “Intervention “ and “Antichrist Television Blues. The whole album played thru and flowed well.

It’s pretty impressive that this was just their second release. The instrumentation and production are really cool and quite interesting, but I found that most of the tracks followed a bombastic baroque pop feel which at times is a little thick and overwhelming. And while I prefer The Suburbs, the efforts here have to be recognized and no doubt will present new sounds and depth each time you listen.

Greatness. Keep the Car Running and Intervention are stand outs for me but this is solid front to back. These guys have a great ability to build songs, creating anticipation, a build up and then paying it off. 4.5

Dang, their first three albums are solid. I thought I had a favorite, but now I’m questioning myself having revisited The Suburbs and now Neon Bible. I’m rating in line with The Suburbs and probably go higher on Funeral. One of the albums prob deserves a 5* and will go to Funeral. 4.25/5

There are other Arcade Fire albums that are 5 stars; Neon Bible just misses out on that. But Intervention and My Body is a Cage are the two best songs they ever made

Great album

pretty good but lowkey album

The first album I got from them was Funeral which I didn't like at all and expected another 1 or 2 stars, but this album is actually good music.

🪩

I've likely dipped into Arcade Fire for a song or two after Sarah Neufeld & Colin Stetson's "Never Were the Way She Was" (which btw would be a good inclusion in a list of music you should be aware of) but other than that, I've never knowingly listenend to them. This is... good? Like, objectively good, I think? I normally have my issues with this big baroque, opulent style of rock or pop and/or the slightly muddy, somewhat Wall of Sound sound - is this the moment already where I bring up Bruce Springsteen? - but it strikes me as musically meaningful here. I can certainly state that "Neon Bible" held my interest. Even if only in the way it wears its influences on its sleeve, here and there, and manages to elevate those into 2007 indie rock. Which, in turn, alas, might be why I'm not necessarily seeing myself putting this on again. But nice, thanks, 1001AYMHBYD, that made sense.

i already waxed poetic about AF’s nostalgia factor (win butler notwithstanding) when funeral showed up on the list, so i can save it this time around. this album is pretty great. the band shoots high, and mostly succeeds. sometimes you have to squint and let the pretentiousness edge out of your peripherals (mtv what have you done to me???), but it’s worth the ride, for me, at least. there are so many hard-hitting tracks on neon bible. i was going to go ahead and list them, but realized i’d be writing out the titles of half of the album. hearing the organ at the beginning of intervention made my stomach drop, like i’d reached the top of a rollercoaster and was mentally preparing for 4 minutes and 19 seconds of free fall. my body is a cage is explosive, cathartic, and a powerful closer. i’m glad that will butler will be raking in the residuals for that track for the rest of his life. however, i don’t know if i will ever be able to form a solid opinion on a regine-centric track other than sprawl ii. they’re….fine? but never the ones i come back to. final tangent: this album makes me think of the church in baz luhrmann’s romeo & juliet.

Fav: No Cars Go

Great

‘Discovering’ Arcade Fire back in college was a big deal. Growing up, my musical world was built of whatever was force-fed to me by the radio. I didn’t live near any quality record stores. Those franchises served up the usual suspects anyway. Then iTunes and Napster came along and suddenly the internet started to show you more variety in what was out there in the world. For the first time, I could choose what I wanted to hear in a real way. The indie thing was largely a product of anybody’s music being able to reach anybody for the first time. Some weird and daring stuff emerged (and also some really bad music- thank you SoundCloud). Arcade Fire’s pre-Funeral ep and Funeral itself defined this explosive era to me. That album, along with say music from The Decemberists and The Knife, helped allow me to define myself. It musically allowed me to draw a dividing line between my childhood and adulthood- what my parents and society said was important, ‘good’ music, and what I thought was important. Then Neon Bible came out, and I’ll admit, I was disappointed. Arcade Fire didn’t pop the balloon, but rather, allowed the air to leak out slowly. I recall listening to this in the college dining hall, shrugging halfway through, and switching to the new, more exciting Animal Collective album that’d just come out. Intervention was a stand-out for sure, but whereas in Funeral, the sorrow evolved into joy track after track, Neon Bible stays dark for the most part. The slapdash homespun quality of Funeral made way for the clear and smooth sound of Neon Bible. In essence, everything I loved about Arcade Fire was suppressed on this album. Still, I had friends who obsessively listened to Neon Bible for months after its release, and so, if only to see what the big deal is, I’ve revisited it over the years. I do appreciate The Well and the Lighthouse and Black Wave. Where Win Butler was never one for a good lyric, I do think they excel on these tracks. I do enjoy the melodies that come and go on those tracks, undulating like waves on the ocean. There is quality here, and there is a message that I can get behind, as in, the failure of organized religion (and organized society as a whole) to provide the spiritual calm that they promise. Having given it the space of nearly twenty years (damn, I feel old now- this is like my dad talking about Jethro Tull in the nineties!) I think I’d notch it from a three to a four. This album was almost the beginning of the end for one of my favorite bands (The Suburbs improve upon Neon Bible, I believe), but it still has more to say to me than many other albums out there.

Very solid album. Not my favorite of Arcade Fire's, but I do enjoy a lot of the songs and appreciate the talent and musicality they show. Some songs are a little too "edgy" sounding for me. Overall- good album, probably 3.5-4.0 range

Good group

I like this. I'll look for more.

Surprisingly brilliant - not the annoying papery Neil Young voice I'd been expecting. Soared into Bunnymen magnificence at times.

i am so tempted to give this a 5 just to balance things out but this album is so good...this is what the korean couple who was smoking while listening to music was listening to, i can just feel it........KEEP THE CAR RUNNING CHANGED ME........

C’est une putain de dinguerie, c’est tout ce que j’aime. Les musiques sont puissantes, on ressent vraiment des choses, c’est totalement le genre de musiques que je cherche.

Great vibe with some 5/5 tracks.

Pretty good, nowhere near Funeral IMO

One of those albums on which there is a lot to admire and enjoy but strangely little to love Ocean of Noise, My Body Is A Cage, & Intervention are great great songs But I find songs like Windowsill and Black Mirror simultaneously bland and grandiose Call it a generous 4 as when it works it’s amazing

good band

4.5

I think this is a great album, which for the most part streamlines the sound the band developed on Funeral, while bringing in a few fresh ideas too. It's more refined. The first half really shines here with "Keep the Car Running" and "Intervention" being the big standouts for me. But, I think everyhing else in the first half is uniformly great -- "Black Mirror", the title track, "Ocean of Noise", and the interestingly structured "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations". The second half has it's moments too, but I think what kind of holds it back for me are the last two songs (which I realize everyone but me loves). It's not that they're terrible songs, but they kind of lose the tone set by the rest of the album, since they kind of retreat to the band's more bombastic approach on their first album. Still, there's a lot of great stuff here. 4.5 stars.

Didn't have that song that stole the show but enjoyable none the less. Would listen to again.

Hadn't listened for years, used to really like the album so was curious how it held up. Yeah it's still great, Intervention, My Body Is A Cage and Black Mirror are highlights. It is a step down from Funeral but that's one of the very best albums of the decade so no shame there.

Reminds me of Bowie and Springsteen. A classic, timeless feeling. Great production, great energy.

i'm a pretty big fan of Arcade Fire, i've listened to Funeral and The Suburbs more times than i can count. admittedly, i've yet to listen to this album except for maybe a couple songs. i fear this may pale in comparison, but i may be proven wrong Black Mirror - 4/5 Keep the Car Running - 3/5 Neon Bible - 3/5 Intervention - 5/5 Black Wave / Bad Vibrations - 4/5 Ocean of Noise - 4/5 The Well and the Lighthouse - 5/5 (Antichrist Television Blues) - 4/5 Windowsill - 4/5 No Cars Go - 5/5 My Body Is a Cage - 5/5 Average score: 4.2/5 this is really good! i don't think it's my favorite of their releases, but it is still solid release nonetheless (maybe top 3?) only complaint i have is it was a bit of a slow burn. the best tracks didn't really come until the middle/end. either way, i could easily come back to listen to a majority of this album again in the future

Its clearly not Suburbs, and at its core its very simple, simple structures, simple melodies, simple songs. But its a breeze to listen to, everything is the same quality, and the band cannot be blamed for the pale imitations that followed that were bland as possible. This drifts, but I would go as far to say its bland. It's fairly good

Hated the other Arcade Fire albums, but this one proved to be an engaging, cinematic, vibrant masterpiece.

87/100. While it may not have quite the same spark as Funeral, Neon Bible is still a fantastic record. It’s confident, cohesive, and brimming with bold ideas. The sound is massive and immersive.

I like Arcade Fire, don't love them. I like the vibe of the album. They did a great job creating an atmosphere.

even separating the art from the artist i've never been that much into arcade fire, the only songs i've really liked that much from them being "wake up" and that one about the snow tunnels or whatever. this album didn't really make me a huge fan, but it was a pretty nice listen. there are moments in songs such as "intervention" and "no cars go" that are pretty similar to what I liked about "wake up" - specifically the huge, booming, anthemic sound. favorite song: "intervention" overall: 7/10 (p.s. go to 2:03 in the song "ocean of noise" heehee)

I like a lot of Arcade Fire (breaking news, local emo, etc etc), but I had a vague memory of this album in particular being kind of overrated, so thanks to this site for getting me to listen to it properly, since I think past me must've given up a track and a half in. Look, it takes a bit to get going, but then it's church-inspired emo with a surprising amount of alt-country flavour, to the point where a couple of tracks (Intervention in particular) made me think "this is like if Calexico had a pipe organ", and if you know me, you know how much of a compliment every part of that is.

Love the vibe, I think this is a great Indie album. Very energetic and makes you want to move from your desk Fav song - (Antichrist Television Blues) 4/5

Enjoyed listening to this album, it felt engaging and diverse. Particularly enjoyed the title track and the opener.

From the quintessential 00s alternative rock group itself comes Neon Bible. I must say, I’ve never dived into Arcade Fire’s catalog to any capacity, but just from the exposure I got to them from this album I quite like them. It was a great album and I really liked a decent number of the tracks. Looking forward to listening to more of their more essential works.

I really like this, some don’t hit, but overall it hits

For some reason I find myself shying away from Arcade Fire. Like, for some reason I feel like I don't like them, or I'm not going to like them, or I don't want to like them, or I shouldn't like them, but then whenever I hear them I can't deny that they seem to be pretty great and that I think I kind of like them. But the final track lost the five rating for me. So close. 4.75

I had not listened to this nor Funeral in full in over a decade. I’ve always liked Neon Bible, but after revisiting both albums I gotta say I like Neon Bible more. At the very least it deserves the same positive reception that Funeral has always gotten.

I liked it, will need to come back to it

I haven't heard this album much since it's release and subsequent years when it was so popular in the early 2010's. Honestly without the bias of hearing it constantly everywhere it's really good. The vocals are still suspect to me as it's one of those signs of the times where everyone was using those wavering high vibrato styles, but it's good. Intervention might be one of the best songs of the generation. It's so big. On the second listen Keep the Car Running is a banger. I think the craziest thing about this album is that it was the advent of an entire generation of music in the indie genre. Basically everyone tried to capture this exact sound after it came out. There's about 10 years of indie pop and rock that mirrors this sound scape

Loved this as Funeral's followup when it came out. The organ destroys in the opening and closing songs. Saw this tour too. I really liked it. Since then my enthusiasm had waned, and that's without considering the ickyness of Wynn Butler's behaviors that have come out in more recent years. On its own though, it's still a really great, but not perfect, album. 4/5

Albumsito chill. Siento que a mostrar 50 lo disfrutaré más por alguna razón (?

I think I hated this but now it’s good? Let’s find out. I guess I hate the Suburbs and love Funeral.

My general attitude towards Arcade Fire is that I like them, but I don't love them, so it's four stars from me.

Don’t think I bothered with it as an album before

liked a lot more than expected

He's a creepy fucker... but just taking the record on its own, it still holds up. High quality, higly considered indie music.

I hadn't heard Arcade Fire before this. I really enjoyed this album!

Pretty good. 3.5 stars.

2 Arcade Fire albums?? Already??

It was probably about 10 years ago that I last listened to this album. When it came out in spring 2007, I was a senior in high school and in a production of "Into the Woods". The day the album was released, I booked it from school to Best Buy to purchase the CD, tear it open, pop it into my Walkman which was connected to a wired cassette adaptor in my car, and narrowly make it on time to rehearsal. It was a formative album for me. Arcade Fire was one of my favorite bands in the time period from Funeral to Reflektor. It was tough to go back to Neon Bible in particular because the time that I associate this with was very tough-- leaving high school, saying goodbye to friends, the uncertainty of where I was going next, the angst I had about everything. Even listening now this album is very dark and has a lot of emotional weight, probably dragged down even deeper by my emotional baggage. It still holds up. I thought it might end up feeling cheesy (for being overly serious or overproduced, which it is in some places) or even hypocritical (re: Win Butler sexual abuse allegations). Obviously it is hard to appreciate Arcade Fire in the same way as before 2022. "Keep the Car Running" is one of their catchiest songs. "Intervention" still stirs some inner demons in me about being raising Catholic and hating it. "(Antichrist Television Blues)" actually stuck out to me the most on this re-listen-- I don't think I'd ever really listened closely to the lyrics or meaning of this song (written about the manager-father of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson) and it's better than I remembered. I'll always remember that video of them playing "Neon Bible" in an elevator, and part of the percussion is tearing pages from a phone book. And another personal memory of my friend being way too drunk and needing to hear "No Cars Go" and insisting that the "best part is at the end".

Was going to skip this album but it was a pleasant surprise.

I love the inclusion of the organs in songs. Indie moodiness is still there. I love the song "Intervention".

Love Arcade Fire but don't reach for this one very often. Still a banger tho.

Good

самые популярные песни в конце альбома, 20 млн и 27 млн соответственно. рок как будто не 2007, а где-то середины 80-х?

It’s hard to listen to Arcade Fire these days with the unresolved allegations around Win Butler still circulating but I soldiered in and quite enjoyed it. The well known songs were the least interesting, probably because I’ve over-heard them, but tracks like Ocean of Noise stood out and reminded me a bit of Calexico, who I love. Epic, cinematic, US indie rock - enjoyable enough, but I much preferred their earlier album, Funeral.

Off the cuff remark: Of the 20 albums listened to so far the first that I have genuine familiarity with. Not a classic but a great "indie" album, as I would've called it. Standout Track: "Keep the Car Running" a belter Revisit?: Yes. It's been a while but nice to be back.

Great Arcade Fire album. Lot's of 2000's fear and anxieties.

Spannender Mix, Indie Rock, mit Orgel und schönen Melodien 4/5

Whilst this is obviously in the shadow of Funeral, it still has lots of merit. It's incredibly gloomy, apart from the joyous re-recording of 'No Cars Go', probably the highlight of the album, which I enjoyed revisiting.

Feels like adolescence to me, but that's not nostalgia -- the lyrics are really that immature. Sonically, this album is lush and full and still feels fresh years after the indie rock scene rose and fell. More rock bands need pipe organs. "My Body is a Cage" is an all-timer.

This isn't my favorite Arcade Fire album, but it's very solid and made the others happen.

Out of the initial three albums by Arcade Fire, probably the only one that isn't five stars. Their ball drop at Coachella in 2011 is prob in my top 10 concert moments. That all being said, this is probably the first time I've listened to one of their albums since the reports against Win were made public a few years ago.

Still such a good listen. Forgot how much Intervention, No Car Go, and My Body Is A Cage forged a lot of my taste out of school.

This album is a vibe. I enjoyed it, and didnt realize when it ended because Tidal foubd music that perfectly matched the vibe and I was in the zone. I am probably not giving this album its due justice because I listened to while working Musically very interesting with similar themes throughout, but varied enough to catch the change between songs. The transitions were smooth and unobtrusive. Overall a very good listen.

I'd like to view this album from a past perspective and a current perspective. In the past, Arcade Fire was one of the few bands that I obsessed over for months on end. I had first heard their debut "Funeral" in September 2019, and soon after, moved over to their sophomore effort "Neon Bible". In those late months of 2019, I had developed a hard infatuation for the string of albums the band had put out between 2004-2013 as well as for front woman Régine Chassange. At the time, Arcade Fire were a year removed from the disappointment of their 5th album "Everything Now" but it felt like the band could rebound with their next record. There was still hope for this band in my eyes. I knew that they could make another album like "Neon Bible". "Neon Bible" was to me, an outstanding work that only stood in the shadow of their phenomenal debut. A lot of these songs were my jam back then with their compositions and lively melodies. I absolutely loved this thing years ago. So at a time where the band still seemed alive after one misstep, I trusted that they could re-channel that energy and make another great album like this one. It is 2025. I am six years removed from my Arcade Fire phase, and despite a promising debut single for their next album WE, the Arcade Fire hype train has greatly declined. What was once one of the most critically beloved indie darlings that rose through the ranks of popularity through their collaborations with Neil Young, David Byrne and David Bowie. Their multiple appearances on Saturday Night Live. Their albums which would make multiple top 10 lists and earn dozens of awards including most infamously when "The Suburbs" beat Eminem, Gaga and Katy Perry for AOTY. A band that was on top of their creative game has now dissolved into something that feels forced. The allegations against Win Butler didn't help either and it lost them a lot of popularity amongst fans and critics. With the release of "Pink Elephant" earlier this month, I look to Arcade Fire now and realize that they will never reach that peak that they had during this or Funeral or The Suburbs. When I was given this album today, I knew that I would like it a lot. This album already wins in nostalgia points, but I write this as a reflection to what this band used to mean to me. When I hear such great tracks such as "Black Mirror", "Intervention", "Ocean Of Noise"and "Antichrist Television Blues", I wonder how and why this band went to shit. It's really a shame to be honest. I had to hear this album twice just to get a grip on it and that's odd because I know this album. I own it on both vinyl and CD. I know it's great, but perhaps I was searching for some kind of satisfaction again. A satisfaction that I will probably never get from this band again. And yet, this album still lives. (I'm sorry if this didn't make sense) 8/10 (4/5)

This takes me back to the good old days of Triple J. Neon Bible was one of the first full albums I remember properly connecting with along my J's journey and it rocked. Both the Car songs are up there but Intervention is my pick of the bunch. Great music, great memories.

Really entertaining album. There were a few spots that sounded off. Maybe a song or two just didn’t match the vibe of the album as a whole. Deeply melancholic lyrics with little glimpses of hope. Not that it’s a bad thing, just worth noting.

Wonderful indie rock album that's overshadowed (and beaten by a bit) by the albums preceding (Funeral) and following (The Suburbs) The front of the album is good but the best 3 tracks come in the last 4: (Antichrist Television Blues), No Cars Go, and My Body Is a Cage. 9/10

Not the most cohesive of their first three but a bunch of good, slightly darker, songs.

This is pretty great. Not quite as great as funeral, they are consistently good though as a band. Problem is... we know win butler was a knob head, so it somewhat overshadows me listening to them now. I dunno, a huge amount of artists have the same things. Can't people just not be horrible so I can listen to their music without guilty intrusive thoughts about whether I should even give them the time of day. It's infuriating and selfish. Idiots.

A modern classic that will likely be tainted by its leader being a dick. But goddamn what an album

Listening to this again it seems like Neon Bible was like blueprints for Suburbs. There are a lot of similarities in the album structure, arrangements, and overall vibe. Which is pretty cool to see considering Suburbs won a Grammy. Goes to show how dialed in they got. I really love Arcade Fire. Neon Bible seems to be that rare occurrence where the sophomore effort is a proper evolutionary step, growth, not just in wherewithal but in leverage and potency. How they're able to use their instruments and ideas. Seems like any young group can bring energy and flavor, but the greats can continue to shape and refine and realize a bigger vision. I don't think Neon Bible is in and of itself a great album per se, but I love it as a big milestone for the band, and it's just so fun to watch and enjoy their process.

Este es el disco que más me gusta de Arcade Fire, en otros tienen canciones mejores, pero este es el que me ganó. Tengo en favoritos: Black mirror, Neon bible y No cars go. Después de escucharlo he añadido Keep the car running, Intervention y The well and the lighthouse.

Really well written record. Didn't really get into it until the back half to be honst. B side absolutely rocks though. Didn't know much about Butler aside from being an avid NBA fan - 5 misconduct allegations? Yikes. Good listening record though

Enjoyable.

Cool sound, interesting reading how album was made.

Following their acclaimed debut Funeral, Arcade Fire faced the "difficult second album" challenge with Neon Bible. While Funeral carved out their space in the indie scene, Neon Bible takes a darker, more grandiose turn—though not always to great effect. After two to three full listens, my impression remains mostly unchanged. The album has strong highlights, particularly “Intervention” and “Keep the Car Running,” which showcase the band’s signature urgency and orchestral depth. “Black Mirror” also stands out with its brooding atmosphere and sharp production. However, not everything lands. The title track “Neon Bible” feels underwhelming and flat, easily the weakest moment on the record. There are sections of the album that drift into a kind of stylized gloom that feels more hollow than haunting. Favorite Tracks: “Black Mirror,” “Keep the Car Running,” and the anthemic “Intervention.” Least Favorite: “Neon Bible” – a forgettable and oddly lifeless entry. Album Artwork: As always, Arcade Fire nails the visual aesthetic. The artwork for Neon Bible is striking and memorable—one of their best.

Feels so grand but also small. Vocals are a little croonerey in a good way. Very good and I will be spending more time with it.

This time I am not going to mess with Arcade Fire. The first album I reviewed was probably the first time I had heard of them. AFTER that I started to really listen and they are really really a favorite of mine since. Now, to be fair and balanced: I still find that a "whole" album in a row has a tendency to feel a bit redundant. This is the kind of music you need to pay attention to and it gets hard to do for a full album's timeframe. Nevertheless, taken in smaller doses or maybe seeing them live, etc, I think that Arcade Fire is severely underrated and are an awesome band all around.

Dictionary definition difficult second album. Not as immediate as Funeral, not as good either but it's an interesting listen and has some great songs.

It felt a little overproduced on the first listen, but the second time around I got that it was part of the theme. The overwhelming power and grandiose posturing of the church. It was a powerful listen and a heavy critique on overreach. It felt a little distracted at points and a little heavy handed at others, but I'm willing to admit that I might have missed some of the nuance and subtler rejoinders (also I don't speak french).

Am…am I an Arcade Fire fan…?

I loved Funeral back in the day but somehow never dove deep into this. Funeral has higher highs, but this album feels more consistent. Enjoyed it a lot.

Liked this album, very dying small town aesthetic.

3.6 to be listen un the near future

So much more relevant in 2025 than it was in 2007. I got kind of emotional listening to this again. I don’t want to live with my father’s debt You can’t forgive what you can’t forget I don’t want to live in my father’s house no more I don’t want to fight in a holy war I don’t want the salesmen knocking at my door I don’t want to live in America no more

4.2

yet another indie sample here. interesting blend of indie rock, gospel and maybe some classic rock and roll? it's one of those indie albums that feel depressing and hopeful at the same time. religious themes, existentialism and fear are common topics in this album. it's something else when you feel relaxed, then all of a sudden the haunting sounds of the church's organ and wails from the choir fill your eardrums. i don't know why i can't get into a lot of indie fully, but it has a very nicely crafted sound. i love albums that perfectly express cloudy conflicting thoughts like these. one of the tracks has horrifyingly aged well.

Oh my early 2010s how I miss thee! This is one of the greatest from them ! I live arcade fire one of the best bands from that era great alt rock revival! Them and the decembrists and 1901, and kings of Leon just so many good bands of that era and to have such a great album stick out it is good 😊

Have heard "Keep the car running" before and listened to it during an Indie period. Personally i enjoy Arcade Fire. Their chord progressions and instrumentation gives a Epic and Ethereal feel but keeping it in the vain of folky Indie rock. The singers voice can be a bit whiny but for me it works and is not a big issue, but i get that people might not enjoy it. Fun listen, not really a masterpiece but well written.

'Mirror, mirror on the wall / Show me where them bombs will fall.' Unlike a bomb, this record takes its time to hit, tho the drums are powerful, strings provide orchestral bigness, and Win Butler's voice generously reaches out to the listener. Things finally explode on 'Intervention,' w/ this immediate and prescient indignation: 'Been working for the church while your life falls apart / They're singing hallelujah when defeating your heart.' I admire so much Arcade Fire's refusal to let up while at the same time going all out in the beauty department: eruptions fly w/ tranquil eloquence. '(Antichrist Television Blues)' is an awesome echo of Bruce, and while I wish the lyrics were more cogent/coherent thruout, the album is an undeniable success.

Great, moody record

Great music

Solid, cohesive album. Became a huge fan of ‘Funeral’, Neon Bible’s predecessor but for some reason never fully listened to this album till now. Need a couple more listens but think I’ll be a huge fan in the future …

exciting to listen to after hearing Funeral, this is an ELO-meets-springsteen adventure that never stops sounding full and sweet maybe not as much stand-outs for me to latch onto as Funeral but it was a good listen

Normally, if I said something could be 'excessive,' I'd probably refer to said matter, unfavorably. But with Arcade Fire, overabundance equals beautiful disorder.

A classic that gets forgotten between the suburbs and funeral

Idk what rock I was under when Arcade Fire was at their peak but I could see myself being insufferably annoying about it had I caught the wave at that time

Beautiful and balanced. Full of strong emtions and even heartbreaking sometimes. The sounds really give off neon and holy vibes.

Muziek voor in de namiddag op een festivalweide

Kind of a 50s/Springsteen vibe. Which means it is very cool in my book. Wonderfully dramatic, almost Wagnerian. It may not be on the top of my listening list now, but I predict it will be. 4/5

Fine

Of course I knew this one. I think I bought it the day it came out. Still a great album. So much emotion and feeling in it. Allegations aside, holds up for me

Capitalism and Religion. Classic 2nd album material. I wanted to rate this low, because I love Arcade Fire and the previous and subsequent albums are way better. But it is better than I remembered. My Body is a Cage is one of the best songs ever. 8.3/10

Interesting listen 👂 Polymath

ive been meaning to get into arcade fire for YEARS this is fun!! kind of muse-y if i had to compare them to a band im more familiar with. fave is the well and the lighthouse

“Funeral” was game changing, but this is still fun.

a modern classic

Like The Suburbs a bit more but really solid overall

Introductions are never easy with Arcade Fire—some artists will always demand undivided attention across multiple playbacks. But do I ever love Antichrist… ✅✅ Ocean of Noise ✅✅✅✅ (Antichrist Television Blues) ✅ No Cars Go

I kept replaying this album on Friday and throughout the weekend. There was something about it that made me want to go back and figure out what made it linger in my head. I found the whole album musically interesting and felt like the music itself - the cords, the arcs, the choruses - told a story of tension and breaking through, more so than the lyrics.

Keep the Car Running is so good

big time college album for me. with some distance, realize it's a little uneven - the lows are almost parodies of themselves, not sure if this is because of time and a bigger catalogue or if they were reductive to begin with. that said, songs like windowsill, keep the car running, no cars go - bangers.

As someone who thought Funeral was okay, this was a nice improvement. It’s still aggressively indie, but it didn’t feel as insufferable as Funeral. I think it might be because of the slightly sinister vibes from the organs and the orchestra. It’s less a “outside with backyard lights” feel and more “dark gothic church”. Weirdly, it sounds like a indie Bruce Springsteen. Overall, this is a good step forward for Arcade Fire after not being very impressed with their first effort. Favorite track: No Cars Go Other hits: Intervention, Black Mirror, Keep the Car Running, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations

Was a pretty enjoyable album - loved some of the sounds in it Standouts: keep the car running, intervention, no cars go

Surprisingly good, very solid indie album

Каждая песня на альбоме как саундтрек к фильму

I quite enjoyed this ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Хорошо звучит, версия 2017 тоже норм

Really good. Strong songs with sone lulls for me imo. I will listen to their other stuff.

My feelings about Arcade Fire as they currently exist are very complicated. Win Butler has shown no contrition, no humility, no regret in the wake of the many allegations against him. The only consequence he, and the band, seem to have suffered is that their new music is about as engaging as wet newspaper. Knowing what we know now does make parts of Neon Bible feel different. (Antichrist Television Blues) and its manic street preaching feels like absolute snake oil now, and it didn't used to. Bad Vibrations feels ominous in a different way, but it also makes me hope, now, that it's true. That the things Win is running from do eventually consume him and drag him to the bottom of the ocean. Still, this album, and particularly its closing salvo of Windowsill - No Cars Go - My Body is a Cage, is so inextricably tied to an emotionally turbulent time in my life, and I have to honor that version of me, who survived long enough to write about it.

Excellent. Heard it before a a underattted album but Neighbourhood is a bit better

I hadn’t heard of Arcade Fire at all until this challenge, but I definitely intend to explore more of their discography in the future. I really enjoyed this album, and it reminded me of Automatic For The People, which I expected, but also of Bruce Springsteen, which was a pleasant surprise. Favorite Track: Windowsill

Black Mirror // Neon Bible // Intervention // Black Wave / Vibrations // Ocean of Noise // (Antichrist Television Blues) // Windowsill // No Cars Go // My Body Is a Cage 4.5/5

i love this shit

The Neon Bible tour was fun. I'm probably rating this higher than it deserves.

I like the musical aesthetic that Arcade fire have. Kind of like a background music version of radiohead. Arcade fire has a knack for making music feel grand and impactful. Kind of like an alternative imagine dragon. I had a good time listening to it while I was hiking around a lake so I'm a little biased.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLrxp9OOSbc Maybe it's due to my underexposure with Indie/folk/whatever you call this, but the Arcade Fire seem fresh to me in terms of sound and I'm sure it was great in 2007. I like it.

Sonically pretty huge. Decent listen

Solid good album, I like the grand and triumphant sound on this album and it's a classic indie rock album for sure.

Fantastic album. It's hipster bullshit, and I like it.

Ok

Kinda bouncy, but considering how much I loved Funeral (despite giving it less than 5 stars - time has not been super kind), this feels a little like Arcade Fire does Arcade Fire. Surprised this is what got them commercial success, and actually don't remember why I mostly ignored it when it came out - I guess it sounds bigger? Probably still wouldn't have hooked me the way Funeral did. Anyway, I was planning on giving this a three but it grew on me in kind of the same way some of the songs grow a little bigger without me realizing it, then the middle was kind of muddled, but then it ended strong. If it weren't for Intervention I'd probably knock it down a peg.

Es un gran trabajo, no conocía este disco y se convirtió en uno de mis top 15

Good album, had a lot of climactic moments. Stand-out: Intervention, My Body Is a Cage

The highs are just as great as funeral, but there are some lows. Which are still pretty good..

Doesn't reach Funeral greatness, but close.

It took me a really long time to start to get into this band and I've never heard this album so I'm excited going in. Right from the jump, it only takes about a minute and a half to get into their anthemic piano-pumping indie rock sound. It's a sound I like, and I'm happy to hear it. It gets loud, it gets soft, it sounds like Bruce Springsteen evolved at times, it also sounds inherently unique at times. On track 2, "Keep the Car Running", I can tell that more modern bands have looked at this sound as an inspiration. This one feels very "The 1975" to me, despite coming years later. "No Cars Go" is a solid track too, great melancholic guitar parts that provide a nice foundation for layers on top like trumpets, tremolo picked guitars, and of course the textured vocals. Nice album. I think it's just short of a 4, but so close that it rounds up. I wouldn't feel right giving it a 3.

Great album, I haven't listened to it in a while, because the singer is a bit problematic, but the mix of Springsteen with the dark dystopian themes living in a post 9/11 world we're captured beautiful here.

I had no expectations but I was pleasantly surprised — a short and well-crafted pop record from an era I like to call «The musical dark age».

Really took a few listens for me to appreciate this one. On first listen it really is just so "arena-rocky" and noisy and even overproduced. With subsequent playthroughs I was able to get past this and hear some nice melodies, with decent lyrics as well. 7/10

7/10 This band has a whole lot of talent, this album was pretty good, intervention and my body is a cage are up there with their best work. 2-06-2025

This is a great album, very reminiscent of a time in my life

Arcade Fire rules

Such a unique album. It had a pretty big impact on me at the time of release and was great to revisit. What a thoughtful project with some very epic moments.

I would listen to this again.

I was very impressed by this album. My Body Is A Cage had been on my Liked List for some time, but for some reason I never bothered to explore more of Arcade Fire’s work. I definitely should have checked this album out sooner. Indie with a HUGE sound, and a surprising amount of similarities to Bruce Springsteen. I was into it.

Such a big and vibrant sound, and a compelling protest album. I remember listening to this when I was in the peace corps not wanting to ”live in my father’s house no more”. Also, I spend a lot of my time both staring at and trying to avoid black mirrors, a modern curse. The sound holds up and manages to shake off the late 2000s/2010s Ho-Hey-ification. My one gripe that pulls this album out of being a 5 is that it relies heavily on, and is derivative of, Bruce Springsteens singing style. It could have done with teaspoon less of that.

Imponerad, Arcade Fire var mycket bättre än jag trodde. Inte riktigt nivån för en femma - men det finns absolut låtar jag kommer återvända till.

Feels huge but also kind of claustrophobic. The sound is packed—church organs, heavy drums, voices layered on voices. It’s got some U2 in the grandness, maybe a little Echo & the Bunnymen in the gloom. There’s beauty in the chaos, something desperate underneath. It really goes for it!

Enjoyable alternate album

I remember peak indie rock years when their subsequent album won album of the year at the Grammys and I tried to get into them but just wasn’t a fan. I think time has really helped because going back to this album I feel like I liked it a lot more. There’s a number of standard indie rock sounds (keep the car running is like the template indie rock sound around this time) while also having a few weird/unique sounds to make it more “indie” (black mirror, intervention, windowsill). I wish the lead singer was a little better. Like he’s trying to do a vibrato thing like Muse lead singer but isn’t quite as good. I would say low 4 high 3.

Fuck it. I listened to this album driving home at midnight while stoned. I couldn't think of a better environment for this album. 5 stars

No es mi fav de arcade pero lo amo

Boppy and chill - good to work to

I really like Arcade Fire and was glad of an excuse to relisten to this, but are all of their first three albums really necessary on this list? I do really like this album but for me it's not on the level of Funeral or The Suburbs which I've already had on the generator. Very good album but not sure it should be included on the list. Fav tracks: Keep the Car Running, My Body is a Cage, No Cars Go

Not heard many of the album tracks before. 14 catchy 3 minute pop songs - hard to dislike

Il y a des disques qu'on attend comme le Messie et d'autres qui vous tombent dessus sans crier gare. Le premier album d'Arcade Fire, "Funeral", faisait partie de la deuxième catégorie. Une météorite d'émotions brutes, une claque monumentale venue de Montréal qui avait mis tout le monde d'accord en 2004. Un de ces rares disques qui vous font dire : "OK, il y a un avant et un après". Forcément, après un tel chef-d'oeuvre, l'épreuve du deuxième album relevait de la mission suicide. On les attendait au tournant, les Canadiens, le fusil chargé, prêts à dégommer le moindre signe de faiblesse, la moindre redite. Et puis "Neon Bible" est arrivé en 2007. Et le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est qu'ils n'ont pas choisi la facilité. Là où "Funeral" était une explosion de deuil et de célébration de la vie, un disque tourné vers l'intérieur, vers la catharsis personnelle, "Neon Bible" regarde au-dehors. Et ce qu'il voit n'est pas beau. C'est un disque sur l'Amérique de Bush, sur la paranoïa post-11 septembre, sur la vacuité de la foi télévisée et la peur constante d'un monde qui part en couilles. Le titre à lui seul est une trouvaille de génie : la Bible de Néon, ce symbole parfait d'une spiritualité de pacotille, aveuglante mais sans chaleur, une publicité pour le salut. Pour accoucher de ce monstre sombre et angoissé, le groupe a fait un choix radical et terriblement logique : ils se sont enfermés dans une église. Pas pour prier, non, mais pour enregistrer. Et ça, ça s'entend à chaque seconde car l'église n'est pas juste un lieu, c'est un instrument à part entière. La réverbération naturelle donne une ampleur folle à chaque note, et surtout, il y a cet orgue. Cet orgue d'église, massif, omniprésent, qui transforme des morceaux rock en véritables hymnes funèbres ou en sermons apocalyptiques. C'est puissant, c'est grandiloquent, parfois jusqu'à l'excès. C'est là le problème car "Neon Bible" est un disque de montagnes russes. Quand on est au sommet, on touche le ciel. "Intervention", avec son orgue majestueux qui semble vouloir faire s'écrouler les murs de la chapelle, est un moment de grâce absolue. "Keep the Car Running", avec son rythme effréné et sa mandoline urgente, est un tube parfait, tendu comme un arc. "No Cars Go", une ancienne composition ressuscitée ici dans une version épique, vous donne envie de courir à en perdre haleine vers un horizon incertain. Et que dire de "My Body Is a Cage", cette conclusion spectrale où la voix de Win Butler, au bord de la rupture, implore la libération sur un crescendo d'orgue et de cordes à vous filer la chair de poule. Ces morceaux-là sont des monuments. Ils justifient à eux seuls le statut de grand groupe d'Arcade Fire. Mais il y a les creux. Entre ces sommets vertigineux, l'album s'essouffle parfois un peu. La grandiloquence, si elle sert magnifiquement certains titres, en plombe d'autres. On a parfois l'impression que l'ambiance et la production prennent le pas sur les chansons elles-mêmes. L'album est sombre, c'est une évidence, mais il lui manque par moments la flamme, la fragilité bouleversante de "Funeral". C'est un disque plus cérébral, plus conceptuel, et forcément un peu plus froid. On sent le poids de l'attente, la volonté de faire un "grand disque" sérieux et important. C'est tout à leur honneur, mais ça se fait au détriment de la spontanéité. C'est un excellent album, un très, très bon album même, mais il n'a pas cette perfection viscérale de son prédécesseur. Il y a, à boire et à manger. En 2007, j'avais été impressionné par l'audace et l'ambition de la démarche. Ils auraient pu nous resservir la même soupe, ils ont préféré explorer des territoires plus hostiles. Rien que pour ça, chapeau bas. Mais avec le recul, je dois admettre que c'est un disque que j'admire plus que je n'écoute en boucle. C'est une oeuvre dense, intimidante, qui demande un certain état d'esprit pour s'y plonger. "Neon Bible" est la confirmation qu'Arcade Fire n'était pas un feu de paille. C'est le disque qui a assis leur statut de groupe majeur de notre siècle, un groupe qui a des choses à dire et qui se donne les moyens sonores de ses ambitions. Il n'est peut-être pas parfait, mais ses sommets sont si hauts qu'ils pardonnent largement ses quelques vallées. Un beau 4 sur 5. C'est la note d'un disque qui a frôlé le chef-d'oeuvre, qui a eu l'intelligence de ne pas vouloir être un "Funeral numéro 2", et qui, malgré ses quelques pesanteurs, reste une pièce maîtresse dans la discographie d'un groupe essentiel. Un disque à écouter dans le noir, très fort, en pensant à la fin du monde.

sort of a nostalgic sound but overall very nice

Never been a tremendous Arcade Fire guy but this is a good one

Pretty great! Actually feels like Indie Pop -- definitely accessible and uses rock textures, but has some fun imagery and this fun almost macabre aesthetic. and isnt afraid of dissonance

Ooh. I'm okay with this! I listened to Funeral about 11 months ago and loved it. I haven't gone back to it that much since then, but my opinion of it is still positive. So, my expectations for its followup, Neon Bible, were fairly high. Of course, I was never expecting it to be better than Funeral, but there aren't a ton of albums that are. So, is Neon Bible a good successor? Yeah, I'd say it is. This album's pretty good. A lot of what I liked about Funeral is still here, albeit in a slightly weaker state. The singing is nice. The instrumental sound is good. The album is generally a bit darker than Funeral, which works pretty well to differentiate the two albums. The pacing is pretty solid. The songs are cool. I like them. I said that the album was darker, but there's still a sense of wonder to be found in songs like "No Cars Go" and "Keep the Car Running" that I love. Overall, while I do prefer Funeral, Neon Bible is still a strong album that proves that Arcade Fire, at least at one point, was a great band. High 4/5.

Some really great songs, strong album.

I listened to Arcade Fire's first album "Funeral" a ton when it came out and for whatever reason feel like I didn't listen to this album much at all. That being said, listening to this now, it's way more familiar to me than I was expecting it would be, and it's a great album. Really enjoyed listening to this with fresh ears all these years later.

Enjoyed this when it was released, but although it has some great tracks I don't think it's their best album.

Bello

Listening to this made me feel like I was going to Neon Heaven.

The impossible follow up to a debut classic still hits hard today.

The birth of millennial indie arena rock. Combining the massive atmospheric post-rock sound and elaborate instrumentation of other Montreal bands like Godspeed and Broken Social Scene with more straightforward up-tempo songs and epic headline melodies (and martial drumming) makes for a hugely effective anthemic album full of drama: building tension, big climaxes and sweeping moments of release.

Never heard of them before which is kinda surprising. I really enjoyed the listen Recorded in a church (source: wikipedia) and I think that it added to the sound. that with the orchestral elements (violin, cello, organ, etc.) I really liked the blending with modern through style but the classical instrumentation Sucks that the guy is a sexual predator. I probably would've listened to it differently had I known that

I really liked Arcade Fire when they first got popular and am pretty familiar with this album. I liked their indie/anti-establishment vibes. They're a bit on the emo side for me now, but this is still a solid album, and it was cool to listen to it again after so long. They have a unique sound and I dig it.

I suspect that I'll be the only one in my "group" that likes Arcade Fire. Sounds like 80's Art Rock music revamped for the 2000's. A little bit of a dark vibe. Favorite songs: Intervention, Keep the Car Running, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues)... actually none of them made me want to skip.

Wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. A lot of variety...love the organ!

A few great songs, and I love the theatre of the organs. But there's a few weaker songs and overall it didn't quite maintain the level of Funeral.

Good enough to revisit later i think

Not nearly as good as the suburbs in my opinion, quite a lot of these songs are more orchestral which I don't think works as well. Overall some great songs though. Favorites: Ocean of noise, no cars go. Overall around 7/10

Outside of No Cars Go this album preceeded my fandom.