Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

"The Montreal band seems to run on a wringing emotional intensity. ... Fronted by husband-wife duo Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the group has established a balance between its sincerity and sense of theater. ... The tunes are among the most musically diverse the band has recorded so far, with buoyant piano pop undercut by an air of melancholy on the opening title track, glittering beds of synthesizers on 'Sprawl II,' churning, punk simplicity in the guitars on 'Month of May' and a propulsive rhythm driving 'Half Light II (No Celebration),' layers of vocal harmonies and moaning strings floating atop the relentless beat. Through it all, the band muses about the lost vistas of its youth, literal and figurative: the ever-changing geography of new roads leading into new subdivisions, say, or the spiritual effects on children who grew up where uniformity is an asset, and, for many, escape is the goal -- subjects that arise on 'Cities With No Children' and 'Suburban War'" (Eric R. Danton, "CD Review," Sound Check, 8/2/10).

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