This may well be the best album since, well… Funeral? Yeah, I like this band.

me like.

I will contend and say that this is a fine album. Unlike Funeral, which to me doesn’t really age well at all, Neon Bible has a timeless, enduring feel to it. The brooding opener is probably my favorite song, it is such a different sound from their first album but they do it so well. I did like their debut a lot but for the moment I do feel that Neon Bible is better. I can see how diehards of their first album wouldn’t like this one, but I can also see how people who didn’t like the first one would love this one. It is best to go into it without any premonitions of what you want to hear and what you expect to hear. Just think of it as the album that everyone likes and you are just now checking it out, then you will probably like it a lot. I know that as much as I liked their first one, this new one is full of energy, strings and a lot of emotion. They seem to have gone away from the use of choruses but that’s ok because once again they do it so well.

It is a refreshing feeling because after Bloc Party and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s horrible sophomore albums, Arcade Fire delivers this gem of an album. I haven’t heard a ton of music but this has been a pretty solid first quarter for quality albums. Along with The Shins’ and maybe the Of Montreal albums, Neon Bible will probably be in my top 20 at the end of the year.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Unlike Funeral, which to me doesn’t really age well at all

Me either. I remember liking Funeral in 2004, but I haven't listened to it much at all since 2004. I pulled it out before the release of Neon Bible and I discovered I still like exactly 2 songs -- "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" and "Rebellion (Lies)".

So far I really like Neon Bible and I hope it fares better than Funeral. I have a few complaints, but they're minor.

quote:

Me either. I remember liking Funeral in 2004, but I haven't listened to it much at all since 2004. I pulled it out before the release of Neon Bible and I discovered I still like exactly 2 songs -- "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" and "Rebellion (Lies)".

Me too. My experience isn't as extreme as yours - I still like around half of Funeral - but I've found that I just didn't enjoy all of the album after about two or three months. I very rarely pull it out anymore, and usually to listen to "Neighborhood #1" and "#2", which I think are both excellent tracks.

In fact I've never quite related to people falling over Funeral. It's good, but I've never thougt it was that good.

Wow, i hear some common sense about Funeral!!
It's an ok record by a reasonably talented crew who may yet make a very fine album, but not yet, not yet....

this was well worth the wait.

i love this album so far.

Alright, I'm pulling out neon bible again because the first 5 times I listened to it I really didn't like it.

But I still love Funeral. I think it has and will stand the test of time... after all, it's stood up for over 2 years now (for me)... but maybe I just have an emtional tie to it because Funeral and YHF were my intros to the indie world.

I really love this album so far. It's a pity we get so excited about an album release that letdown becomes almost inevitable. I think everyone does it, but unfortunately that can mean missing out on fully enjoying some really good albums. Anymore, if I don't like an album at first, I quit listening for a little bit and come back later to see if I still feel that way. Some music just needs time to grow!

As far as Funeral vs. Neon Bible goes, I think I rate Funeral just slightly ahead of Neon Bible right now. But that could change, and the ranking is almost entirely due to Rebellion (Lies), which is still my favorite Arcade Fire song by far.

Intervention, Ocean of Noise, The Wall and the Lighthouse, and No Cars Go are the songs that stand out for me. I wish the album had ended with No Cars Go instead of My Body is A Cage, my least favorite of the more 'gothic' sounding songs. But I love it when bands use any instruments that are out of the ordinary, so the pipe organ is fantastic as far as I'm concerned, especially on Intervention. The only song I don't like is the title track. It's just dull by comparison (and it's so easy to skip ahead to Intervention!)

It's definitely my pick for the best album of the first quarter of the year.

quote:

Originally posted by less_success:
In fact I've never quite related to people falling over Funeral. It's good, but I've never thougt it was that good.

The thing with Funeral is that the good songs are extremely good. Like, best of the decade good. They easily make up for the lesser songs. I can easily understand people "falling over" Funeral.

On my 6th listen spread out over atleast 2 months (I got it when it first leaked) I still can say I don't like this album. I only like one song on the album "My Body Is A Cage".. I guess to each his wn, but I just don't think this album will ever grow on me. I just... ugh. I'm frustrated because I want to like it.

I'm sorry for you (not that you're lame OR wanna hear that), but it's cool. (Both the album and your opinion.)

Anyone think Neon Bible has a chance of taking the #1 spot on the Billboard album sales chart? I remember when Kid A did that back in October of 2000. It seemed to have taken a lot of people by surprise. I have a feeling it could happen here as well.

quote:

Originally posted by ezkcdude:
Sorry to be a party pooper, but Neon Bible is not that good. It just isn't it. If you loved Funeral, you will probably just like NB. If you liked Funeral, you will probably think NB is nothing special. However, if you want to see for yourself, just go to torrentspy, not that that's legal or anything.

Well, I'm going to take this comment back! I usually know fairly quickly whether I like an album, but this one has been different. Last night I turned up my stereo, laid in bed, and just listened. You know what? I was just plain wrong. I'm going to eat my words here, folks. I know this will sound like I'm buckling to peer pressure or something, but I swear, that's not it. I just called it wrong the first time. Plain and simple. I must admit, the album definitely brings to mind Springsteen, but that's o.k. with me.

ezkcdude

quote:

Originally posted by ericg75:
ezkcdude

Well, isn't a Neon Bible enough to make one born again?

quote:

Originally posted by SDF:
Anyone think Neon Bible has a chance of taking the #1 spot on the Billboard album sales chart? I remember when Kid A did that back in October of 2000. It seemed to have taken a lot of people by surprise. I have a feeling it could happen here as well.

The Shins were second on the Billboard with Wincing in its first week of release. It was something around 115,000 sales. I think Neon Bible will at least make the top 10. It doesn't take much anymore to crack it. Although AF doesn't have Zach Braff behind them so maybe not.

Nearly all of the songs on Neon Bible lack the grand (let's just excuse the melodrama) scope of Funeral's best tracks. Arcade Fire's best songs have a very majestic quality. Most of the tracks on Neon Bible don't really seem to go anywhere interesting, and the muddied production doesn't help. I will say Intervention, No Cars Go, and My Body Is A Cage are all solid efforts, but not enough to redeem the album for me. A decent, rather disappointing release.

Wow, I'm a bit surprised by what a lot of you think about Funeral. My biggest concern with Neon Bible (without hearing it) is that it wouldn't hold up for me the way Funeral does. I still get as much out of every song now as the first month I had it. I love Neon Bible after 3 days of listening, but I'm hardly ready to compare the two.

Let's keep in mind that Funeral isn't the best album of the entire decade like many people often claim it to be. Heck, it wasn't even the best album of 2004; albums by Brian Wilson, Interpol, Madvillain, et al were better than it. I know some people love it and think it is the best indie album of all time and blah, blah, blah but I don't see what is so hard about listening to Neon Bible as a whole without even feeling the need to compare the two. Neon Bible is a solid, strong album with new, different sounds and song styles that are played very well. They definitely avoided that dreaded sophomore slump and they nailed this one. They were able to do something differently without compromising their great lyrics and musicianship to the best of their ability. It's a great little album, period.