“Neon Bible,” Arcade Fire’s follow-up to its critically acclaimed 2004 debut “Funeral,” may be another angst-ridden collection of songs lamenting the world’s anxious condition, but for being so ominous, it sure is a fun listen.
Tackling such heady fare as faith, religion and the forthcoming apocalypse, Arcade Fire manages to infuse enough energy and grandeur in the music to keep the album from being just another bit of depressing indie rock. It’s a spry, engaging piece of intellectual pop, driven by the simple complexity of the music. The septet employs a variety of instruments, each one complementing the other, building on their individual austerity and combining into a Gestaltian marvel of arrangement. The church organ opening up “Intervention” along with the simple strumming of an acoustic guitar aptly introduce lead singer Win Butler’s aching vocals as he sings about the price a family pays for a member’s unwavering dedication.
The difference between “Neon Bible” and “Funeral,” and there will undoubtedly be countless comparisons because of the first album’s popularity, is the band’s reservation in the latter. While “Funeral” offered instant gratification with its high-energy songs, “Neon Bible,” which takes its name from Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Kennedy Toole’s book, forces listeners to be patient, waiting as the band builds up songs, and the album in general, to their satisfying apexes. Every time it’s listened to, the album gets better. The penultimate song, “No Cars Go,” is the album’s grandest accomplishment, a track that could easily fit in on commercial radio or the snobbiest of indie rock playlists.
In 2005, Time magazine named Arcade Fire “Canada’s Most Intriguing Band.” With “Neon Bible,” Arcade Fire is becoming one of the world’s most intriguing bands.
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