Neon Bible
Artist(s):
Arcade Fire
Label: Merge Records
Publisher(s):
Merge Records
Studio: Merge Records
Manufacturer: Merge Records
Binding: Audio CD
MPN: 50285
List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $10.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Similar Items:
Funeral
Wincing the Night Away
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
In Rainbows
The Reminder
Sky Blue Sky
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Sound of Silver
Boxer
Icky Thump
Track Listing
1.
Black Mirror
2.
Keep The Car Running
3.
Neon Bible
4.
Intervention
5.
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
6.
Ocean Of Noise
7.
Well & The Lighthouse, The
8.
Antichrist Television Blues
9.
Windowsill
10.
No Cars Go
11.
My Body Is A Cage
Editorial Reviews
Album Description
The second album from Montreal's Arcade Fire exceeds all expectations. With string and orchestral arrangements by two of the band members, "Neon Bible" is full of both half-assed punk rock mistakes and meticulously orchestrated woodwinds. Processed strings and mandolin. Quiet rumbles and loud rumbles. But mostly just eleven songs that the band thinks are really good.
Amazon.com
For their second full-length, the Montreal-based seven-or-eight-piece Arcade Fire show themselves capable of Big Rock, as original, and as potentially marquee-topping as TV on the Radio and Sigur Ros. Regardless, the intentional murkiness of these pleasantly anthemic New Wave dirges makes it sound as if the music has already reverberated through a crowded cement stadium. Named after cult author John Kennedy Toole's first novel, Neon Bible is smart and subtle enough to present itself as a personal discovery for every listener, every word to be pored over by fans (as with those of Tori Amos, Pavement, and Radiohead). Surely, lines like "The sound is not asleep/ It's moving under my feet" have already been scribbled onto the margins of countless textbooks. Such words are delivered with less intensity this time, but no less import. For vocal influences, lead singer Win Butler seems to have traded his '80s Bowie in for an '80s Springsteen, at least on the songs "Antichrist Television Blues" and "Windowsill" (though "Intervention" sounds an awful lot like '80s era Go-Betweens). The kitchen sink arrangements include the use of an Eastern European orchestra, pipe organ, hurdy gurdy, and a military choir. --Mike McGonigal
Customer Reviews
Give it a chance
After I fell in love with 2004's Funeral, I snagged this album as soon as it was released. Initially I was bored and very disappointed, so I ignored it for awhile. Eventually I picked it up again, gave it another chance, and now it's one of my favorite albums; I guess it's an acquired taste? I believe Antichrist Television Blues, in particular, is about Jessica Simpson's father, although it could apply to many others in this age. Other good tracks: Neon Bible, The Well and the Lighthouse.
The Arcade Fire
Neon Bible, produced by Arcade Fire, resonates with its profound lyrics. I particularly enjoyed the various musical instruments that accompanied the large band, and how the instruments, such as the pipe organ, contributes to the mood and theme the band is attempting to convey. The themes expressed in the songs reflect issues that are prevalent in society today, such as the impersonal nature of a materialistic lifestyle and the hypocritical nature of figures in authority.
In a musical environment brimming with shallow and syrupy pop songs, it is incredibly refreshing to hear music that deals with issues that are more important than the typical teen romance. I can sense that the songs were derived with legitimate emotion and concern for the impending society. Although the themes are for the most part dark, they strike me as very real, with the metaphors and imagery illustrating messages that everyone involved in societal issues can relate to.
If you are looking for cd produced for merely commercial benefits, then do not purchase or listen to this cd. This work of art is meant for deep thinkers, who enjoy musical talent accompanied by soulful lyrics. The unification of this band, which consists of many members led by Win Butler, is striking. Neon Bible is an indie production that is sure to please music lovers looking to be enlightened and inspired.
So and So
Quite good but not as good as I expected and how it is rated...maybe keeping on listening I will change my mind. Maybe.
At last, something fresh!
Recently discovered this band and I must say this is something special! At age 48 I have heard so much stuff and over the past years I thought I had just gotten too old (as it would be presumptuous to claim that modern music is going nowhere fast). So for those that listened and still listen to Prefab Sprout, Joy Division and even New Order, for those that enjoyed Echo and the Bunnymen's Heaven Up Here, well, check out these kids from Canada. It might just blow you away. Yes, the production is not always perfect, but these issues are just dwarfed by the great lyrics and the excellent timing of each element in the compositions. If you want to try it out with a download of a song or two, I suggest that you go for:
1. No cars go
2. Keep the car running
3. Antichrist television blues
4. Windowsill
Each of these songs have different elements to them and the lyrics on Windowsill just freaked me out ("you can't forgive what you can't forget")!
Enough already, have to get back to my iPod and this "urgent" music.
Improvements
*Review from a Classic Rock fan
I really felt that this album is much more diverse than Funeral. Whereas Funeral seemed to have an overall sound to it, this album makes it all much more interesting, adding a lot of organ and orchestral pieces. It starts and ends wonderfully, with "Black Mirror" in the beginning setting the stage for what is to come, and ending with "No Cars Go" (featured in Top Gear) and "My Body Is A Cage," which I loved and is my favorite song off the album. The structure of this song alone makes it great, but it is so much more than that, just like with the rest of the album.
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