Arcade Fire
Neon Bible

THE REVIEW

After their 2004 debut, Arcade Fire was eagerly awaited. This album is one of the most anticipated of 2007, especially because distinguishing between true expressive capabilities and temporary emotional involvement, which characterized the group when they recorded "Funeral," has yet to be achieved.
The doubts are widely dispelled with this record, rich and fascinating like the previous one, but also full of interesting hints and new influences.

The opening track "Black Mirror", a breathy song that still manages to strike from the first listen, is a turmoil of moods that blend and confuse. The approach is sharp and the execution precise, but this time the result is more cathartic than in the past. Probably, with this "Neon Bible", Arcade Fire leaves aside some of the citationism and dives full speed into their talent, bringing forth thunderous explosions of newfound perfection and beauty. This splendid beginning is just one of many treasures to discover on this record.
To prove the universality of Win Butler and his companions' expressive code, there is "Keep The Car Running", a top-quality pop delight, with a syncopated rhythm punctuating the sweet and engaging dance, in a riot of sounds.
"Neon Bible" also has a new quality compared to its predecessor "Funeral": it can alternate almost opposing atmospheres without seeming forced. If the 2004 album was a frontal wave, this work is instead a disorienting vortex. Therefore, it is not surprising to listen to a slow folk nursery rhyme like the title track, which assimilates one of the most popular genres in alternative circuits in recent years, or the graceful "Windowsill", a sweet lullaby that manages to reveal much more fascinating views, like the sensational distorted base, which effortlessly embeds itself into the melodic fabric or the horns and choir converging in the final celebration.
"Invention" is instead a symphonic march, in the group's best tradition; their hallmark is now unmistakable and tracks like this demonstrate it, in an overlapping of emotional states, masterfully interpreted by Butler's delicate singing.
One of the indelible masterpieces of the album is "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations"; a vaguely Nordic dream pop that derails into an apocalyptic gothic crescendo.
The atmosphere becomes more relaxed with "Ocean of Noise", a smooth ballad, which flows almost through our limbs and reaches a teary zenith in a finale where the strings sketch the movements of the soul.
The melodic charge manifests itself clearly in "The Well And The Lighthouse", a sort of reprise of "Keep The Car Running", but with even more shocking vehemence. In short, Arcade Fire is writing the grammar of pop rock music for the new millennium. Music of often stunning intensity, capable of clouding perceptions and transporting us to an impressionistic world, populated by penetrating sensations.
Sensations that shift from dreamy to raw in no time, as "(Antichrist Television Blues)" clearly shows, a quick rock tinged with mysticism, carefully approximate.
"No Cars Go" is another indelible New Rock gem, a caustic snare and a monochrome harmonica wreak havoc; the vocal performance is heartfelt and engaging as always and gives birth to one of the group's broadest and most representative compositions ever. The New Wave is not reissued but is internalized and transformed; it's felt in the rhythms, in the guitars, but the emotional foundation is completely changed.
Before the curtain closes, "My Body Is A Cage" arrives. A lightning bolt in a clear sky. What do our ears hear? What is this sublime obituary? Is it perhaps a moribund dance?
The keyboards explode like flames that corrode our psychological stability. In closing the album, Arcade Fire launches forward, proposing a sort of otherworldly psychedelia, starting from some previous decade's metaphysical-sounding episodes ("Exit Music" by Radiohead teaches) and developing the discourse in a very personal way, keeping their prerogatives intact but expanding the artistic scope impressively. This last episode is the peak of the album and its closure; it couldn't have been better.

Summing up, with this second work, the group purifies the expressive code, enriching the musical palette, expanding the references while simultaneously forging a new and well-characterized sound.

It's difficult to compare with "Funeral," which remains a benchmark for music of these years. The intensity of the debut may not be reached, but with "Neon Bible" the group proves itself coherent and well-oriented towards the future, capable of developing a credible and organic musical discourse, which in this second episode mixes with more pop-rock structures and sounds, while at the same time seeking a purer and more unique sound, less anchored to the past and increasingly unmistakable.

A step forward in the band's creative journey and a milestone in the current musical landscape.