On Arcade Fire's likeable, but dark new album, Neon Bible, there are many things that differ from their critically acclaimed debut, Funeral. The Montreal based indie rockers have a lot more money behind them and you can immediately tell by the sound quality of their recordings. That said, the songs still have their haunting lyrics and feel.
"Black Mirror" recalls older material from the band, but it has a darker feel, as the furious violins give it an imminent, ominous vibe. The title track also has a very dark feel to it. The lyrics have obvious religious overtones, and it seems to sound almost like a really foreboding children's song.
The lead single, "Intervention," could be described as an explosion of organ and emotion. Songs like "The Well & The Lighthouse", and "Keep the Car Running," are the more up-tempo songs on the album. The latter is one of the big highlights on the album. You can hear the Bruce Springsteen influence throughout it. It tells a great story about a thrilling chase scene between some kind of secret police and the lead singer, Win Butler.
"(Anti-Christ Television Blues)" is a critique of religion and its relationship with big money and the media. "Windowsill" is easily the biggest political statement on the album, with several critical lines on American life: "Don't want to fight in a holy war, I don't want the salesman knocking at my door, I don't want to live in America no more."
"Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" is the only song where pianist Chassagne sings in a lead role and takes charge of the song. She sings the first half and Butler comes in to finish the song with a sense of graveness. The biggest surprise on the album hands down is "No Cars Go," an updated version of the song that appeared on the Arcade Fire EP. The new version is more guitar-driven than the original, which had a more prominent accordion.
The album has a very cohesive feel to it, which is quite surprising for an album about world events and religion. Even more impressively, Neon Bible sounds just as desperate and imminent as Funeral, if not more. Many people thought that the album would not hold up in comparison to Grammy-nominated predecessor, but it is all in all, the best album of the year so far.
