 | |
List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Merge Records
Salesrank: 1902
Released: March 6, 2007 |
| Our Price: $9.96 |
| Used Price: $7.79 |
|
| Media: Audio CD |
|
Neon Bible 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 Review:
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.
Description of Neon Bible:
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
Neon Bible Reviews:
Arcade Fire's Neon Bible - A Beautiful, Haunting Evolution 
2009-11-29 - 2004's Funeral took all indie rock fans by surprise with its sweet, charming, intriguing sound and overwhelmingly original lyrics. Receiving perfect scores from nearly every critical publication, Arcade Fire definitely set a high standard for themselves right off the bat.
Neon Bible is a darker, more mature, and more progressive set of Arcade Fire tunes. From the first haunting whisper of "Black Mirror" to the powerful fadeout at the end of "My Body is a Cage," Arcade Fire paints a convicting picture of the consequences of America's focus on commercialism. With vivid parallels and resonant parables, each track becomes more and more commanding with each repeated listen.
Album highlights, including lead single "Keep the Car Running," "Intervention," "No Cars Go," and "Ocean of Noise," each bring their own unique songwriting element to the table. Gripping lyrics abound in each of the aforementioned tracks, specifically in "Intervention" ("You say it's money that we need / As if we're only mouths to feed / I know no matter what you say / There's some debts you'll never pay"). The careful simplicity of each phrase also adds to the lyrical brilliance of leader Win Butler, as it did so prevalently additionally in Funeral.
Though some Arcade Fire fans may not be accustomed to the album's frequent application of large arrangements or heavy organ usage, the employment of these techniques is artistically and sonically fitting and also adds some versatility to the band's catalogue. For example; organ-heavy tracks like "My Body is a Cage" and "Intervention" relate lyrically to spirituality and ecclesial conflict, making the strong presence of the organ a vital part of the songs' arrangements.
After listening to both albums many, many, many wonderful times, I have come to the apparently uncommon conclusion that Neon Bible outdoes Funeral with its concise composition and its dark melodies. Don't get me wrong-- Classic Arcade Fire songs like "Neighborhoods #1 (Tunnels)," "In the Backseat," "Wake Up," and "Neighborhoods #2 (Laika)" are tough to beat or even break even with. However, Neon Bible definitely has its own classics and is a force to be reckoned with for Arcade Fire fans and other indie rock fans alike. 2007's best indie rock album, hands down.
One of the most amazing and beautiful albums I've ever heard
2009-11-21 - As my title says, this is really on of the most amazing and beautiful albums I've ever heard. It's truly deep and very well written. I love Arcade Fire because their songs are really from the heart: I can really feel the emotion when they sing and play; it's amazing! The emotion I feel when listening to songs like 'No Cars Go', and 'My Body is a Cage' is really overwhelming; my whole body gets goosebumps! This album is truly amazing, and I recommend it to all. Don't look at this album and not buy it. Every song is incredible! Buy this and you'll be listening to it all the time. It's worth much more than what it sells for. Bravo Arcade Fire, *CLAP* *CLAP*
Good, but no Funeral 
2009-11-07 - Don't get me wrong, this is a great album - but it would take a superhuman effort to measure up to Arcade Fire's previous album, Funeral. Funeral is, without a doubt, my favorite album of the last ten years, and if you're looking for an introduction to these guys that would be it.Funeral
A flop?
2009-10-14 - No, this is not a flop. This was the first AF album I bought and upon the first 3 or so listens I was very worried. I disliked the tone of the music, I had a few headaches, I couldn't enjoy it because the music was kinda quiet but when I turned it up I enjoyed it even less. But, thankfully, I didn't give up, I had spent money on the physical album (only reserved for my very favorites# and wasn't going to admit I had made a bad decision.
I then did something brash. I bought Funeral. I liked the sound, I felt good about listening to it for twice as long as I would have listened to Neon Bible just to make up for it. Then I put Neon Bible back on, and it was great. Better than Funeral now that I had digested it, the orchestrations were more complex, the hooks were cleaner, the sound was grander. Just some back story to my review if you were turned off at first, o and Funeral and Neon Bible are about on the same level for me right now, dunno which I like more. Now for Neon Bible:
Black Mirror is my least favorite track, I listen to it b/c its epic, but it lacks a lasting/growing appeal for me. Keep the car running is amazing, even though it has a pop sensibility to it, it still holds an epicness to keep you going for repeat listens. Neon Bible is short and sweet#well short) and gives a little segue into the meat of the album. Intervention is pretty good and it has its highs and lows but the following 5 tracks I disliked very much until my return. The next 6 tracks are simply amazing. Black waves, Ocean of Noise, Well and Lighthouse, antichrist, Windowsill, No cars go are all stunning and Body is a cage is a killer closer. Of all the tracks, my favorites are Windowsill, 2 Cars songs, and Well and Lighthouse, but it'd be hard for me to identify them outside of the album run through to be honest.
The only thing better than this is funeral.
2009-08-20 - So this gets 4.5 out of 5, because Funeral exists. Yeah, go and buy, Delicious.
