It was over two years ago when Canadian indie wunderkinds The Arcade Fire first burst onto the music scene with their modern masterpiece ‘Funeral’. Despite its morbid title, it was anything but depressing; a glorious celebration of life, an album of handclaps and harmonies, where angular, punky spikiness rubbed shoulders with unashamedly exuberant orchestral flourishes with the most magnificent results. Their long-awaited, much hyped sophomore album ‘Neon Bible’ is a very different beast. Yes, we still have Win Butler and Regine Chassigne’s unmistakable vocals; yes, we still have the delectable orchestration; yes, we still have the vibrancy and passion that is the hallmark of the Arcade Fire. But overall, its charms are more subtle; there are no barnstorming sing-your-heart-out anthems in the vein of ‘Wake Up’, nor anything quite as grandiosely sentimental as ‘Crown of Love’. What it does have is a consistency, a greater sense of thematic purpose that holds the album together and although the individual elements may not stand out like the best moments of its predecessor, taken as a whole it provides a more cohesive listening experience.
This shift in style is immediately apparent with album opener ‘Black Mirror,’ its ominous pianos and vaudeville violins a world away from the delicate, twinkly beauty of Tunnels. Repetitive yet atmospheric, it lacks immediacy but sets the darker, moodier tone of Neon Bible perfectly. UK single ‘Keep The Car Running’ is probably the LP’s most ‘commercial’ cut, a straight-down driving country-rock tune given the Arcade Fire twist; in this case, jangly mandolins and some delightfully unexpected "WOOOOH-OHHH’s." It’s not a patch on Rebellion (its closest equivalent on Funeral) but it’s a song that slowly and irresistibly burrows into one’s consciousness and refuses to budge. This is followed by the pleasant, genteel folk of the title track; a transitional piece that that won’t set your soul alight but provides a brilliant contrast with the massive pipe-organ chord that heralds the beginning of "Intervention". Initially backed with just an organ and acoustic guitar, this song swells into an immensely textured ballad which, yes, does owe something to Bruce Springsteen but stands well enough on its own merits not to be dismissed as a mere rip-off of ‘the Boss’. "Working for the church while your life falls apart, singing ‘Hallelujah’ with the fear in your heart," Win yells with religious fervour whilst the full force of the band’s instrumental section delivers a richness and passion that few other bands could possibly hope to match. The album’s first standout track, it is a perfect encapsulation of the anger and yet also hope that lies at the heart of ‘Neon Bible’.
‘Black Wave/Black Vibrations’ is a somewhat schizophrenic piece - one half is Regine accompanied by menacingly angular strings, the other is Win's heavy, brooding chant over a rumbling bass-"nothing lasts for ever, that's the way it's gotta be, there's a great black wave in the middle of the sea." Yet again, there’s a sense of fury that drives this song; a rally against societal greed in the lyrics "Stop now, before it’s too late, eating in the ghetto on a hundred-dollar plate…." It’s not a sentiment that admittedly isn’t particularly well developed, but it displays the sense of remonstration as well as celebration that distinguishes ‘Neon Bible’ from its forebear. Adding a bit of light to proceedings, the Caribbean-tinged "Ocean of Noise" is a laid back little number with a reggae-ish bassline that explodes into life with a truly luscious coda complete with vibraphone and mariachi brass. Continuing this more upbeat tendency, "The Well And The Lighthouse" is a fast paced Win and Regine duet pierced by shimmering violins and glockenspiels that at times sounds like a synthesis of ‘Tunnels’ and ‘Rebellion’. There are occasional moments where the spectre of over-production threatens to overwhelm it (especially during the first minute), but they manage to reign it in before the wonderful singalong finale. This is followed by the provocatively named "Antichrist Television Blues," the album's most exuberant moment; a perfect mixture of cheerful Americana and the aforementioned 'handclaps and harmonies' formula that the band most excels at. Underpinned by a strong (if slightly wordy) narrative, it displays a wit and intelligence that undoubtedly proves Win’s development as a lyricist. Add in some supremely joyous whoops at the 3.30 mark, and you’ve got yet another AF classic.
A slow-burning but very effective protest anthem, ‘Windowsill’ is the most noticeable departure from what many would see to be the band’s trademark style. This song sees the band moving from the broad themes of life and death espoused by the debut to more overtly political territory with lyrics such as "I don’t want to fight in the holy war…I don’t want to live in America no more." It’s certainly not one of the more immediate tracks on this album; the melody is quite basic and the orchestration (for at least the first half of the song) is more reserved than one would expect from the Arcade Fire. But what it lacks in bombast it makes up for in sincerity and maturity, and its low-key nature makes the eventual pay-off (complete with brass band and a beautiful call-and-response section) even more marvellous.
The penultimate track is a re-recording of EP favourite "No Cars Go," a decision that caused a many raised eyebrow amongst the indie fashionistas. Some cynically declared that it was proof they had run out of good material and had been forced to dust off something from their back-catalogue to fill up space. The reality is that rather than a sign of desperation, NCG stands as a testament to the evolution of the Arcade Fire, a band now able to fully realise the potential displayed so fiercely in the original EP. It isn’t radically different to the original; the most noticeable change is the infinitely better production quality. But there are enough wonderful new flourishes that make the revisit entirely worthwhile; the tremolo intro, the flutes, the delightful chants of "Let's Go!"…I could go on and on. The only slight misstep is the synth solo in the middle of the piece, but as that only lasts a matter of seconds it seems churlish to complain. The fact is this is one of the bands most sublime moments; the final two minutes in particular are without a doubt one of the most utterly glorious pieces of music you’ll ever hear. For those doubting they could ever match "Wake Up" - this is the song for you.
The lights are dimmed, the curtains drawn and ‘Neon Bible’ finally draws to a close with the soulful hymnal of "My Body Is A Cage." It’s here where it becomes most clear how much Win’s voice has improved since the recording of ‘Funeral’- his tendency to hoarseness has been one of the band’s few bugbears, but on MBIAC he really shines. His vocals still have a certain fragility, but it’s now a boon rather than a burden and lends the song a genuinely emotional edge. But it’s when that apocalyptic pipe organ kicks in, sending shivers down the spine of all but the most cold-hearted when this song truly comes into its own. A lost soul seeking redemption, Win’s impassioned pleas to "set [his] spirit free" prove to be almost spiritual in intensity; the abrupt ending only augments the sense of release, the relinquishing of ones demons, the final release from the cage of life into sought-after oblivion. It’s as perfect a closer for this album as one could ever conceive.
This won’t be an album for everyone. Anyone expecting Funeral Mk II should look elsewhere. Some will bemoan the lack of a true rock-out a la ‘Power Out’, and as much as that would have been nice, it wouldn’t have fit in the scope of the album. It’s clear that the band’s intention was to create a unified album rather than a collection of unrelated songs that just so happen to be thrown onto the same disc and as such, Neon Bible demands to be listened to as a whole for a full appreciation of its brilliance. It must be admitted however, that for all its strengths, there is nothing on Neon Bible (No Cars Go excepted) that comes close to packing the same emotional punch as the most brilliant moments of their debut. But then again, whilst Funeral was more of a mixed bag (‘7 Kettles’ and ‘Haiti’ never did much for me), this maintains a high level of quality from start to finish. In any case, it’s a tour de force of a album that should cement the Arcade Fire’s reputation as one of the defining bands of the decade; it’s surely only a matter of time before all will see: Salvation lies within the Neon Bible.
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