Neon Bible (album review)

Guess what? A brand-new Arcade Fire album review in time for St. Hallmark's Day. I've listened to this album over seven times so far, and haven't grown sick of it yet. So here are my thoughts on it:

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire
Merge Records, 2007 [buy]

     Fire is one of the fundamental physical elements. In legend, it was cleverly stolen by Prometheus from the gods and given to mankind who yearned to have access to fire's tremendous power. Its fearsome potential to both destroy and create was first worshiped by mystical alchemists and later harnessed by scientific industrialists to transform the world in many ways, unfortunately often manifested by the uniquely-human characteristic to destroy. But even in destruction, fire can be an inspiration. Whoever or whatever started a fire in an arcade somewhere deserves the gratitude of the music world for inspiring the name of the band Arcade Fire. Like Prometheus before them, the band members of Arcade Fire, led by husband and wife team Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, channel the fire of the gods to forge ingenious compositions they generously bestow upon humanity.

     Of late, humanity, especially in the UK and North America, seems to be eagerly receiving Arcade Fire, for their live shows are selling out minutes after tickets go on sale. Seeing such success for a band made famous solely by word-of-mouth, many are simplistically labeling Arcade Fire as a recent "underground phenomenon" and drawing glib comparisons between them and bands such as Joy Division, Roxy Music and Neutral Milk Hotel. But these left-brained attempts to categorize them by their musical influences, analyze their tonal dynamics or quantify their diverse instrumental capability fall incredibly short of describing the magic that is contained within their music. Dispensing with distracting facts, one must experience their immersive music first-hand and allow the soul to be overcome by the complex range of emotion the music creates.

     Neon Bible, Arcade Fire's second and latest full-length release, is awash with such expressive feeling. The predominant mood is a sincere thoughtfulness that sometimes glows with hope and sometimes broods in sorrow. The front album artwork appropriately captures the essence of this mood with its bright neon lights forming the outline of a book in a starkly contrast to a dark backdrop. Perhaps the dark backdrop is the more comforting of the two. "No Cars Go", a song re-recorded from Arcade Fire's 2003 EP Us Kids Know, as the title suggests, evokes a serenity that shuts out the clamor of modern civilization. The song lulls the listener to sleep, an escape from garish light pollution and shoving crowds to the dreamworld with its gentle darkness.
     Amid the crooning lullabies and soaring chorals, Neon Bible manages to tastefully interweave pointed social criticisms. Alluding to faceless fear and greedy exploitation of innocents, the swaggering "Antichrist Television Blues" targets a society often overcome by sensationalism and hysteria. Rumor has it that the original title of the song was "Joe Simpson", a reference to Joe Truett Simpson's monetization of his daughters Ashley and Jessica Simpson. In a similar criticism of American culture, "Windowsill" is a subtle march of guitar and drums over which Win protests "I don't wanna fight in the holy war... I don't wanna live in America no more". The atmosphere builds tension, until violins, trumpets, and a choir combine for a powerful resolution. On the strangely triumphant "Intervention" a pipe organ breathing reverent chords is a pronounced contrast to Win whose voice mourns the hypocrisy of organized religion especially in the United States with the refrain "Working for the church while my family dies".
     Though Neon Bible has these somber moments, it leaves sufficient room for uplifting ones. Clever lyrics with political commentary are, in reality, simply a detour from the highest musical points that awaken with transcendent hope. The track "Keep The Car Running" generates such hope, starting out with sparkling strings that transform into a whimsical blur of motion. Led by the foot-stomping rhythm section, the sun-tinged song seems to recklessly careen along a windy coastline road.

      With all its gradual progressions and thorough arrangements, Neon Bible lacks instant satisfaction. Most, if not all, of its songs require patience and thought to fully enjoy. They are not disconnected pop jingles to be shot into a vein yielding an intense high that is promptly over in a couple minutes. Ultimately, having the patience to comprehend the full depth of the songs is more than rewarding. Though, the album could have showcased Régine's lovely voice more prominently than it did.
      Writing six paragraphs about Arcade Fire without mentioning their previous album Funeral [buy] is almost a feat of objective brilliance. However, no mention would seem an oversight. Perhaps it is simply a delusion of subjective familiarity, but a certain cherished copy of the album is begging to be removed from its sleeve. It is dying to spin out its interconnected melodies--its cries on "Laïka", its meditations on "Une Année Sans Lumière" and its call for revolution on "Rebellion (Lies)". In a contest between Funeral and Neon Bible, Funeral would prevail--more cohesion, more Régine, and more French. Simply put, if buying one of the two albums, buy Funeral. But, if possible, please do not hesitate to buy both albums, prime examples of artistic rock that is not so self-obsessed that is forgets to to be personable.

Sufjan Stevens at the Kennedy Center

It was awesome, I was lucky enough to get tickets near the front to the performance of...

Sufjan Stevens
Kennedy Center, 05 Feb 2007

      The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Millennium Stage concert series yesterday evening. The celebration consisted of a set of four free engagements, concluding with an exclusive show featuring the folksinger Sufjan Stevens supported by members of the Opera House Orchestra. Judging from the people who camped out in the ticket line for up to eighteen hours last week, Sufjan’s performance was the most popular of the four.

      While waiting for the show to begin, the “urban-casual” Sufjan crowd mingled in the enormous Grand Foyer merging with attendees of the previous performances who were often wearing suits or evening gowns. A good deal of the crowd ambled upstairs to the terrace level, where the atmosphere was especially festive with an abundance of free desserts and two chocolate fountains all sponsored by a national retail chain.
      At 8:30, the concert staff opened the doors to the Opera House auditorium. Inside, while it contained seating for 2,300 people, the auditorium was not overwhelmingly expansive or opulent; rather, it seemed more intimate, with its sloped floor ideal for experiencing a live performance. Above the room, a Lobmeyr crystal chandelier from Austria hung from the domed ceiling. At the front, a distinctive red and gold silk curtain hung on the stage.
      After a greeting from Michael Kaiser, the president of the Kennedy Center, the curtain lifted from the stage to reveal conductor Rob Moose and orchestra seated to the left, and a grand piano and Sufjan Steven’s other supporting musicians to the right. Stevens entered the stage and abruptly bowed to the cheering crowd. Then, he sat down in front of the piano.     

      He began to play the first track from his well-known album Illinois “Concerning the UFO Sighting at Highland” a trembling piano and voice composition. This song fittingly blended into an instrumental piece with the orchestra called “The Black Hawk War…” the second track from Illinois [buy].
      Having finished the medley, the band stopped. Sufjan sipped some water and stood to speak for a minute, welcoming the crowd to the show. He proceeded to mention his home state Michigan to introduce the next song from his 2003 album about his home state Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State [buy]
      Suddenly, the vibrant song “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head” filled the hall with its energetic arrangement and forceful rhythm that almost could have awakened the home of Motown from its economic hibernation. In the middle of this invigorating arrangement, the saxophonist Hideaki Aomori performed an impressive solo to further the awakening call.
      Having fully awakened the attending audience at least, Sufjan backed by Annie Clark's vocals soothed everyone’s mesmerized eardrums with the bittersweet acoustic-folk of “Casmir Pulaski Day”. The punctuated beat of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer” from the Avalanche [buy] followed, showcasing percussionist James Mcalister’s impressive ability on the drums. The live version was instrumental except for when Sufjan managed to sing over the accompaniment “1-2-3-4-5-6-7/All computers go to heaven” alluding to a line from the Beatles’ “You Never Give Me Your Money”.
      Immediately after the cacophonous conclusion of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer”, Sufjan segued into the guitar chords of “Predatory Wasp of Palisades”, and began singing its haunting melody. The orchestra soon joined in with delicate dissonance in an arrangement that was alternately calming and uplifting. This contrast was surprisingly surpassed by the breathtaking "Seven Swans" from the album with the same name, Seven Swans [buy]. The song began as a hushed mournful ballad which crescendoed to a dramatic chorus accompanied by James Mcalister's crashing cymbals, Sufjan's fiery piano chords, and Rob Moose's orchestra at a forte. Annie Clark passionately played along on the bass guitar to complete this dazzling soundscape impossible to reproduce on any artificial sound system.

      The finale "Majesty Snowbird" was equally astounding. It was a new, unreleased song that sounded far better as a live performance than as a bland bootleg recording. It climaxed triumphantly, with the instruments resounding all throughout the hall. The piano began to shake from the force of Sufjan's chords, and the floor itself began to shake from the colossal wall of sound.
      Disappointedly, "Majesty Snowbird" was the final song with no encore performance that could have been one of Sufjan's other outstanding songs like "Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", "They Are Night Zombies..." or "No Man's Land". Even without an encore, the concert was still unforgettable. Backed by a score of talented musicians, Sufjan performed the songs he did proficiently both instrumentally and vocally--even his live falsetto was strong.

      Towards the end of the set, Sufjan made a fitting comment that was easy for people to make music about the money, forgetting that music should be a gift for everyone to hear and experience. Accomplished musicians like Sufjan, who transcend the commercial music business by seeing music as an end in and of itself, are the ones that truly deserve the support of loyal fans.