Another tantalizing review awaits you, dear reader. What could I possibly have thought about this album?
Who : Arcade Fire
Album name : Neon Bible
Formed : 2001
From : Montreal, Canada
What do they play : Indie rock / chamber pop / art rock / baroque pop / symphonic rock (at least according to Wikipedia)
Release date : March 05 2007
Well... if I'm honest, I was expecting to really hate this record. The first couple of songs I listened from it - the singles 'Keep the car running' and 'No cars go' - did nothing for me. And if the former I can still do without, them the latter, given time, became tolerable. There were two other singles from this record - 'Black Mirror' and 'Intervention' - but I don't recall listening to them prior to my first listen. Which was, admittedly, not something that moved me terribly. For some reason, it just didn't click with me. But again, there were rave reviews everywhere, was I missing something?
Easier to understand if I put it into context where I was at the time. I'd been going out with Silvia for about eight months or so, and we were headed for our first break-up. And I know she adored the record. So for a while it was more her record than mine, if that makes any sense. As I recall it, that break-up was just before summer 2007, and not much later I caught Arcade Fire in a local festival, when they were touring for this record. And only then did it really click with me. The show, the performance, the presentation... it was completely uplifting. Almost like a religious experience. Of course, having come from this experience with a changed view about the record, I turned to it almost immediately. Listen by listen, I started to get it, to enjoy it, to love it. It also gave me a greater appreciation as to why Silvia really liked this record - there were a few tracks that gained new life, new meaning, new purpose. Whenever I listen to 'Ocean of noise', especially, or 'Black Wave/Bad Vibrations', I always think of her. And I do so with a grateful smile, thankful that although we couldn't make it work, we still shared some things that will last maybe a lifetime.
As to the album proper, man, I hadn't listened to it fully in many years now. It stopped being my go to Arcade Fire album, but that's a story for another post. But it still really holds up, and I had a blast listening to it again. I will even admit to not perfectly recalling a couple of tracks here - I'm looking at you 'The Well and the Lighthouse' and the post's title, 'Windowsill'. I knew them, of course, but just hadn't listened to them for so long that they felt like bumping into an old friend one hasn't seen in a long time. This used to be my desert island Arcade Fire disc, but that has changed these past few years. That'll be an interesting story to tell. There's no bad song here, really, though I'd live happily without 'Keep the car running' - It's just not a very interesting or inspired song, at least for me.
This was never a 10 out of 10 for me, and not even nostalgia pushes the needle that way. But I do like it slightly better than the first record, and it contains what is probably - even after all these years - my favourite track of theirs, 'Ocean of noise'. And I love it not only because of some good memories I have of listening to it when I was with Silvia, but because - and especially so - lyrically it's one the songs that most directly speaks to my soul. And the instrumentation is simply divine. But this was an exhilarating experience, listening to this record again.
As it stands, it's a 9 out of 10. Might've 10 out of 10 if a certain song pertaining to cars I dissed twice already hat been cut... Just sayin'.
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