I will be the first to admit it, Arcade Fire could record low frequency hissing for 65 minutes and I’d buy it, and tell the world it was a social commentary on the silence of being alone. That being said, I truly feel like Arcade Fire’s latest album, The Suburbs is while not their best album, a consistent and solid panel in the triptych that is their last three albums.

To me, the underlying theme in this album puts the archetypal character that runs through their albums directly in, you guess it, the suburbs to much the bewilderment and dismay of our main hero.

There’s a theme of skewed identity, thinking that your life or actions define who you are, and then finding out that these things are hollow. Now what? Arcade Fire doesn’t necessarily have the solution they just want you to be aware of it.

Lyrically, the entire album is just as haunting and beautiful as the other two.

The title track opens the album with this verse:
In the suburbs, I
I learned to drive
And you told me I’d never survive
Grab your mother’s keys, we’re leaving

Second track:
Businessmen drink my blood
Like the kids in art school said they would
And I guess I’ll just begin again
You say can we still be friends

Third track, Modern Man:
In my dream I was almost there
But you pulled me aside and said you’re going nowhere
I know we are the chosen few
But we’re wasted
And that’s why we’re still waiting
In line for a number but you don’t understand
Like a modern man

You get the idea. Basically the main character in this drama is coming to a realization, that there’s a preconceived notion of “arriving” when you get to the american suburbs, and that that is a facade, and if it IS a facade, then how does one live?

Arcade Fire typically has themes of isolation in their albums, this album is no exception. I think that while musically, I prefer the epic nature that is Neon Bible, the solid theme of this album and the lyrics cannot be ignored. This band is very good, consistently.

There’s not many bands that make you think about the life stages that you’re in. Arcade Fire is one of those bands that does. There are times when I have to just sit and reflect on my own life and I tend to well up at the mere thoughts and images that this band makes me confront.

I think that this album might be too long, unfortunately. The other two albums were around 10 or 11 tracks, here we’re rounding out at 16. While some of these are necessarily full songs, but segues or vignettes into the next track, I feel that this kind of is pretentious, and could have just been tied into the front or back of the tracks around it. That being said, if this is truly a concept album, then I think that the length is to be expected.

All in all, I’m happy that this album is out. Arcade Fire is one of my favorite bands, for the emotions and feelings that they put me in. I feel like i know them, and I wanna be friends with them and hug them and make them know I understand where their coming from. Because I feel that they know where I’m coming from. This is something that’s almost impossible to feel with other bands, and I feel that this is why this band has such a rabid following.

So, The Suburbs by Arcade Fire is a welcome addition to their catalog. Pick it up via Itunes, a friend of mine told me that Target has it for 7.99.