Like Rush, R.E.M., The Cure and Radiohead before them, Arcade Fire seem bent on making unintelligible college-rock music that while often times musically engaging, is lyrically obtuse. One criteria that I use in determining whether an album is classic or merely just good. "The Suburbs" continues Arcade Fire's reach for artistic merits, but the album falls short--somewhere between good and very good, but not great or classic.

When I see 16 tracks on an album I get nervous. Very few artists can pull off a lengthy 16 track opus, but Arcade Fire do a reasonably good job of it. The album is not boring overall, but there are a few tracks that could have been left on the cutting room floor, or as b-sides. The quality of the musical arrangements, melodies and compositions fit together well as a whole entity, but not individually. There are no really memorable tracks here, they all kind of compliment one another.

The standout tracks to me were "Modern Man", "City With No Children", "Half Light II", "Suburban War", "We Used To Wait" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains". The rest of the tracks were serviceable. I have been listening to pop/rock music for so many years now that I could not help but notice a few riffs borrowed from other pop/rock songs. For example, "City With No Children" has a guitar riff that comes dangerously close to The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" just change up slightly. "Sprawl II" has a synthesizer riff that's very similar to Julian Lennon's "Stick Around".

But it's the lyrics that I really come back to. Arcade Fire has, from the very beginning, been an intangible entity. Like R.E.M., you have to revert to the lyric book just to figure out what they're singing about, but even then you are left with a rather oblique picture. It wasn't until later in their career, that R.E.M. started writing songs that were more accessible, and their popularity grew exponentially. For their first four albums, they were relatively obscure and mainly college rock. Fellow countrymen, Rush, had their first seven albums filled with fantasy/sci-fi themes that really didn't connect to a larger audience, and it wasn't until their eighth album that they really hit their stride combining lyrics and music as a whole. I feel that same issue plagues Arcade Fire. "The Suburbs" is not accessible. No matter how many times I reviewed the lyric sheet, I found my mind wandering off and listening to the melodies and arrangements instead.

Musically, the band has changed slightly from album to album, but they are still recognizable as Arcade Fire. I guess what I am getting at here is that the band has room to grow. They are not a winner right out of the gate like some bands, nor are they one dimensional like some other bands. They sit poised to be as great as R.E.M. or Rush or even Radiohead, but they are not quite there yet. They seem to feeling their way still, but I believe they are capable of great things musically--it's there, when you listen to what they are doing, they just need a producer to harness and capture their essence.

Here's how "The Suburbs" compares to Arcade Fire's other works:

2004 Funeral: Four Stars
2007 Neon Bible: Three and a Half Stars
2010 The Suburbs: Three and a Half Stars
Like Rush, R. E.M., The Cure and Radiohead before them, Arcade Fire seem bent on making unintelligible college-rock music that while often times musically engaging, is lyrically obtuse. One criteria that I use in determining whether an album is classic or merely just good. "The Suburbs" continues Arcade Fire's reach for artistic merits, but the album falls short--somewhere between good and very good, but not great or classic. When I see 16 tracks on an album I get nervous. Very few artists can pull off a lengthy 16 track opus, but Arcade Fire do a reasonably good job of it. The album is not boring overall, but there are a few tracks that could have been left on the cutting room floor, or as b-sides. The quality of the musical arrangements, melodies and compositions fit together well as a whole entity, but not individually. There are no really memorable tracks here, they all kind of compliment one another. The standout tracks to me were "Modern Man", "City With No Children", "Half Light II", "Suburban War", "We Used To Wait" and "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains". The rest of the tracks were serviceable. I have been listening to pop/rock music for so many years now that I could not help but notice a few riffs borrowed from other pop/rock songs. For example, "City With No Children" has a guitar riff that comes dangerously close to The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" just change up slightly. "Sprawl II" has a synthesizer riff that's very similar to Julian Lennon's "Stick Around". But it's the lyrics that I really come back to. Arcade Fire has, from the very beginning, been an intangible entity. Like R. E.M., you have to revert to the lyric book just to figure out what they're singing about, but even then you are left with a rather oblique picture. It wasn't until later in their career, that R. E.M. started writing songs that were more accessible, and their popularity grew exponentially. For their first four albums, they were relatively obscure and mainly college rock. Fellow countrymen, Rush, had their first seven albums filled with fantasy/sci-fi themes that really didn't connect to a larger audience, and it wasn't until their eighth album that they really hit their stride combining lyrics and music as a whole. I feel that same issue plagues Arcade Fire. "The Suburbs" is not accessible. No matter how many times I reviewed the lyric sheet, I found my mind wandering off and listening to the melodies and arrangements instead. Musically, the band has changed slightly from album to album, but they are still recognizable as Arcade Fire. I guess what I am getting at here is that the band has room to grow. They are not a winner right out of the gate like some bands, nor are they one dimensional like some other bands. They sit poised to be as great as R. E.M. or Rush or even Radiohead, but they are not quite there yet. They seem to feeling their way still, but I believe they are capable of great things musically--it's there, when you listen to what they are doing, they just need a producer to harness and capture their essence. Here's how "The Suburbs" compares to Arcade Fire's other works:

2004 Funeral: Four Stars
2007 Neon Bible: Three and a Half Stars
2010 The Suburbs: Three and a Half Stars