Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

The anticipation of a sophomore release is always a tense time for a band and its fans. This was certainly the case for Montreal’s “something-tet,” Arcade Fire. AF’s 2004 release, Funeral, was touted by critics and major indie blogs. New York’s The Village Voice ended up ranking the band 6th on their annual Pop and Jazz List, Time Magazine gave them a cover spot, and most recently, SNL featured the band on a February episode hosted by Rainn Wilson. Here’s my brief take on how the album stacks up by itself and, unavoidably, in relation to Funeral.

The band kept the overall sound and image the same. Just as Funeral was loosely based around the deaths of several relatives of band members, Neon Bible expresses a certain amount of religious uncertainty: “Lord, would you send me a sign, / ’cause I just gotta know if I’m wastin’ my time!” Win Butler preaches in (Antichrist Television Blues).

I really feel like I’m listening to an AF album when I get to track four, “Intervention.” Outlined with pipe organ chords, the band creates the illusion that we are hearing the song from a distance until the bass and drums enter 1:40 in (Reminds me structurally of “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” and “In the Backseat” from Funeral). The subject matter is a realist critique on human relationships. Musically, it ends with a sense of triumph, complete with a string arrangement, but the vocals reveal mere acceptance: “Hear the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone.”

Some other favorites include: “No Cars Go,” a remastered version of a track from the EP the band released before Funeral, “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations,” and my favorite, “Windowsill” (Give it a listen!). The album picks up nicely where Funeral Left off, giving a more varied and complete collection of songs. In terms of lyrics, yes! The lyrics are on the darker side, but often with a sense of hope and sincere curiosity. Funeral had a better collection of complex and beautiful orchestrations, but Neon Bible is certain to make an excellent live translation and create even more hype for the next release, assuming the mammoth-sized band stays intact.

Go and buy Neon Bible.
Patrick

I’ve been meaning to post about French electropop collective Air’s newest album Pocket Symphony, but I just never really got around to it. So here it goes.

I consider Air to be pioneers–they have paved the way for bands that blur the line between electronica and rock and pop (see Zero 7, etc.). For some reason, Air has that ability to just strike a mood within the listener, better than any band I can think of as I write this post. Surround sound most definitely enhances the quality of Air’s songs, as I find that they have been crafter to envelope you, dare I say, to suffocate you with their sweet and eerie grooves.

Pocket Symphony is really just an extension of the “Air sound”. Great pumping basslines, soothing power chords, and of course, the ocean. I haven’t figured out why, but they always seem to incorporate water sounds into their songs. But I digress. Equal parts instrumental and vocal, Pocket Symphony certainly gives the feel of grandiose arrangements (indeed like a pocket symphony). The album strays less from the longer, drawn out and rather redundant (not necessarily bad) songs that appear on Moon Safari or Talkie Walkie. These are complex, intricate rhythms that trap you in an icy cave of synths and chilling pianos. Songs like “Redhead Girl” and “The Mayfair Song” have that bigness to them that really gives the album shape, and tracks such as “Mer du Japon” deliver that electropop, laid back Air groove that I so adore.

Side note: Air also wrote the music for Charolotte Gainsbourg’s 5:55, which I posted about earlier.

Jean-Beniot Dunckel (1/2 of Air) recently released a solo album simply called Darkel. I ‘m not signing my approval on this one.

Okay, go and buy Pocket Symphony because you will be happy you did. And check out their myspace.

Listen to “Mer du Japon” (4.8/5)
Listen to “Redhead Girl” (4.6/5)
BONUS:
Listen to “La Femme D’Argent” (5/5)