Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs [Album Review Roundup]

Who needs to write another review when all of these already exist? The consensus? You probably want to own this album. If you are looking for the cheap MP3 version, buy it on Amazon for $3.99, totally worth a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Paste Magazine Review: I guess they like it. All I took away from this review was that "Modern Man" sounds like Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" but with a less impressive chorus. Umm what? Most boring review I read, yet the most interesting comparison.

NME Review: They loved it, calling it "pretty much perfect" and "feels just like coming home". Unlike Paste's review, they actually have a concluding paragraph so that way I know they liked it. 

The A.V. Club Review: Says that "Win Butler frequently sounds defeated" on this album but it's not a "bummer". Luckily, "Arcade Fire falls back on what it does best, delivering surging anthems like “Ready To Start,” “City With No Children,” and “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains).” So if you are looking for that classic Arcade Fire sound that so many are addicted to, check out those songs. And they got an A-

The Blogs Say: 
Noise Narcs: Likes the album, citing "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" as the standout track. 

We Listen For You: (you have to scroll for the review) Sometimes reviews here frustrate me or confuse me but that is why I keep coming back. The reviews here aren't always heavily focused on the actual songs, but often the concepts behind the songs or the album as a whole. We Listen For You is always ready with an interesting take on an album from a point of view I haven't considered before. The concept in this review is difficult to explain briefly but is one of the reviews that I mostly agree with, and one that I had the patience to read all the way through. Well done. My guess on Hank's opinion: He likes some songs but it is not the amazing album everyone was looking for.  (Please correct me if I am wrong here)

Pretty Much Amazing:  Likes the album gives it a score of 89 but says cut the two Suburbs tracks as they are the weakest. And my favorite sentence in the review is that the album "the most coherent schizophrenic you will ever meet". 

The Music File: Wrote a nice short review, highlighting the track "Modern Man" and made a gigantic statement: "A generation from now, we will look back on the music of this 1st decade of the new millennium and ask, what stood out, what was different, what changed the landscape of modern music? And the answer will be singular. Arcade Fire." Wow. This is someone who is going to be playing this album on repeat all month.

Of course, more reviews will be pouring in today as more people get a chance to let the album sink in. There are plenty of other reviews out there, I just chose the most accessible ones. If there are more you want to send my way, please do. It is always interesting to read reviews from different sources to see what people can agree on. One thing many reviews did mention is that as long as Arcade Fire's album is decent they will still be able to sell it live because of their fan base and especially because of their world renown live setting showmanship.

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