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is anyone else not very impressed with the new Arcade Fire album?


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Old 03-08-2010, 16:45
Biko
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been listening to it and its not giving me the same feeling as when I heard Funeral and Neon Bible hoping it will grow on me but it sounds a bit too much like other bands and the beauty of the arcade fire is that they don't sound like other bands
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Old 03-08-2010, 17:46
Coen
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I've probably only listened to about 5 or 6 tracks from it (too many tracks!) but I'm loving it so far.

Personally I think they needed to move on with their sound a bit (I didn't actually rate Neon Bible that highly) and I really like the more electronic feel to some of the tracks. But at the end of the day the most important thing is the quality of the songs - which is brilliant from what I've heard so far.
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Old 03-08-2010, 19:59
jcheekychappy
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been listening to it and its not giving me the same feeling as when I heard Funeral and Neon Bible hoping it will grow on me but it sounds a bit too much like other bands and the beauty of the arcade fire is that they don't sound like other bands


100% agree with you, was starting to think i was going mad!

The whole world is obsessed with what's 'cool' I think that is the main problem here. Arcade fire are deemed as Cool and underground so people will automatically say this is great without actually listening.

I read some incredible reviews of this album and i really felt it was going to be amazing but not one song jumps out at me. It feels like a load of different styles thrown together. It's definitely not a 'classic' or album of the year as so many music mags were hailing it!
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Old 03-08-2010, 21:25
lectrospin
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bit long but otherwise pretty good a lot better than neon bible.
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Old 03-08-2010, 22:12
caz wants cake
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im a huge arcade fire fan. i've listened to it a few times and im loving the album.

what i love about it is it doesn't go over the same ground as neon bible and funeral. while it didn't fall in love with it as immediately as i did with funeral i gave it time. i don't care if a record is deemed cool or not but in my opinion the suburbs is a classic
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Old 03-08-2010, 23:41
neel
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Its a bloody good record, in a completely different way to Funeral or Neon Bible.

It isn't an album with any "jump out" tracks, there probably aren't any typical singles on it, but its a perfect example of the lost art of making an ALBUM 12 or so tracks that compliment each other and are more together than the sum of its parts.

It is so much more than collections of disparate tracks that we've become used to.
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Old 04-08-2010, 09:00
Tel69
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I really like the album too. It is different from the 1st 2 albums but it's pretty good none the less. If I had one minor gripe it would be that it is slightly too long but it's good to have them back. I wonder when they're going to announce a UK Tour?? I know they're doing Reading/Leeds festivals but nothing else announced so far.
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Old 04-08-2010, 09:47
Gaz@NokiaMusic
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It normally takes a couple listens to any album for the magic moments to jump out at me while filtering through endless parts that just have weird progressions that I can't seem to hear groove in or can't make out the root note... It's exactly the opposite with The Suburbs for me. So full of magic that the stand out moments are the progressions I don't understand... which is a great thing!

I can't remember now, but whoever did the review that said it sounds like Depeche Mode and Neil Young was bang on in my opinion.

It is a little long though!
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Old 04-08-2010, 09:48
kutox
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100% agree with you, was starting to think i was going mad!

The whole world is obsessed with what's 'cool' I think that is the main problem here. Arcade fire are deemed as Cool and underground so people will automatically say this is great without actually listening.

I read some incredible reviews of this album and i really felt it was going to be amazing but not one song jumps out at me. It feels like a load of different styles thrown together. It's definitely not a 'classic' or album of the year as so many music mags were hailing it!
And, in the case of a band as acclaimed as Arcade Fire, it also means everything they produce will be compared to their debut
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Old 04-08-2010, 10:02
Coen
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It normally takes a couple listens to any album for the magic moments to jump out at me while filtering through endless parts that just have weird progressions that I can't seem to hear groove in or can't make out the root note... It's exactly the opposite with The Suburbs for me. So full of magic that the stand out moments are the progressions I don't understand... which is a great thing!

I can't remember now, but whoever did the review that said it sounds like Depeche Mode and Neil Young was bang on in my opinion.

It is a little long though!
I've not actually read any reviews of the album, but that comment does sound spot on to me - I was actually listening to it again driving to work this morning thinking it reminded me of Neil Young.

Anyway, having listened to the whole thing a few more times now, I'm even more convinced that this is a brilliant, brilliant album.
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Old 04-08-2010, 13:15
lectrospin
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I had to stop my usual habit of scanning through tracks in an album looking for a few stand out ones, this is something to be listened to as a whole. There are many 'hidden' moments of magic.
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Old 04-08-2010, 13:27
Nasalhair
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I think it's fantastic and by far their best yet. As much as I loved parts of "Funeral" (not all of it - there were a few tracks I always skipped) and most of "Neon Bible", this is a definite advance in their style. There aren't any of the familiar bombastic numbers like "Power Out" or "No Cars Go" but the songs are altogether different, and dare I say better. You really need to give this album time as you must listen to it in one go rather than cherry-picking individual tracks, as it does feel more like a concept album than anything they've done before. It also gets better with every listen. As for the criticisms about the length of the album I don't have a problem with it at all - it is 64 minutes long and for me there isn't a single duff track, and certainly none I feel the urge to skip by. Album of the year for me, and the best album of Arcade Fire's career so far.
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Old 04-08-2010, 16:28
caz wants cake
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the more i listen to it the more i love it. it has moments of complete magic. i love how much they have developed musically and lyrically. album of the year by far.
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Old 04-08-2010, 17:10
mvood
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The whole world is obsessed with what's 'cool' I think that is the main problem here. Arcade fire are deemed as Cool and underground so people will automatically say this is great without actually listening.
They're not underground, anyone who thinks that needs to get their ears out of the charts and Radio 1. They're verging on mainstream with the popularity they have.

And it's cooler to say you hate Arcade Fire than to like them.
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Old 04-08-2010, 17:56
Ghost World
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I'd heard from various places that it wasn't particularly good, but I really really like it. Including the title track, which I know some people weren't keen on.

The whole world is obsessed with what's 'cool' I think that is the main problem here. Arcade fire are deemed as Cool and underground so people will automatically say this is great without actually listening.
Wow, that's condescending.
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Old 04-08-2010, 18:05
kutox
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They're not underground, anyone who thinks that needs to get their ears out of the charts and Radio 1. They're verging on mainstream with the popularity they have.

And it's cooler to say you hate Arcade Fire than to like them.
I know I'm not the person you were responding to, but I suppose Arcade Fire could be described (albeit very loosely) as 'underground' because, although they are well-known to music fans and are hugely acclaimed, they aren't properly well-known to the mainstream like a Coldplay or U2 (not comparing) who are pretty much household names.
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Old 04-08-2010, 19:16
jack soon
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I had to stop my usual habit of scanning through tracks in an album looking for a few stand out ones, this is something to be listened to as a whole. There are many 'hidden' moments of magic.
Is that subtext for "There are no stand-out songs on this album"?
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Old 04-08-2010, 19:32
jcheekychappy
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They're not underground, anyone who thinks that needs to get their ears out of the charts and Radio 1. They're verging on mainstream with the popularity they have.

And it's cooler to say you hate Arcade Fire than to like them.
In terms of how many albums they actually sell they are most definitely 'underground'
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Old 04-08-2010, 19:34
jcheekychappy
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I know I'm not the person you were responding to, but I suppose Arcade Fire could be described (albeit very loosely) as 'underground' because, although they are well-known to music fans and are hugely acclaimed, they aren't properly well-known to the mainstream like a Coldplay or U2 (not comparing) who are pretty much household names.
Exactly.
My mum and dad know of Coldplay and U2 but say Arcade fire and they will be utterly baffled.
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Old 04-08-2010, 19:36
jcheekychappy
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I'd heard from various places that it wasn't particularly good, but I really really like it. Including the title track, which I know some people weren't keen on.


Wow, that's condescending.
It's not in the slightest.
Its the truth.
It's the way we are in Britain mainly because of the media. People buy things that they think is 'cool' Like it or not it's the way it is.

Obviously there are real music fans out there who buy because they like and they know about it but right now the biggest music retailer in our country is tesco and that says it all really.
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Old 04-08-2010, 21:40
neel
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It's not in the slightest.
Its the truth.
It's the way we are in Britain mainly because of the media. People buy things that they think is 'cool' Like it or not it's the way it is.

Obviously there are real music fans out there who buy because they like and they know about it but right now the biggest music retailer in our country is tesco and that says it all really.
I'm loving this crazy bizaro reality where arcade fire are "cool" and "underground".

I think people buying music because its "cool" would be better served buying music which is actually viewed by people who are concerned about such things as actually being cool.

I have no bloody idea what that is but i'm sure it isn't arcade fire. Perhaps four or five years ago. Its probably Dub Step or such like now.

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Old 05-08-2010, 01:58
niwdeness
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I feel similar. I wrote this in another thread, before searching and finding this thread (LOL).

Am I the only one who doesn't like it? The songs all seem samey and merge into one for me. There are some good songs like 'Rococo' and 'Half Light II' but they don't rival the best of Neon Bible/Funeral. There are no songs like 'Windowsill', 'Antichrist Television Blues', 'Ocean Of Noise', Black Mirror' or 'Intervention' that just give me the chills, it all seems really unatmospheric and dare I say it, too upbeat. I'm hoping it will grow on me, but i've listened to it about five times and no luck...
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Old 05-08-2010, 10:59
coollist
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Is the general opinion that this is all hype over substance? Another critic's choice that is a duffer.
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Old 05-08-2010, 11:17
Tel69
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Is the general opinion that this is all hype over substance? Another critic's choice that is a duffer.
If you read the thread you will see a majority are impressed with it. Who cares what the critics say anyway?
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Old 05-08-2010, 11:22
Coen
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If you read the thread you will see a majority are impressed with it. Who cares what the critics say anyway?
Indeed, I've not actually read any reviews, so I don't even know what the critics are saying.

Personally, I think this is a brilliant album.
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