LogFAQs > #977106418

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
MaxGalactica (35)
FoolFantastic (37)
Blur (40)
Fluttershy_Pony (48)
RyoCaliente (50)
Johnbobb (52)
Sheep007 (56)
HBJDubs (60)
Seanchan (63)

General Album Comments

Seanchan: Haven't heard this in a long time. Surprised how much I still generally remembered of it aside from a few tracks near the end (except for Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), which is memorable). I do want to sit down and pay a bit more attention to the lyrics on my next listen.

Perhaps it's just because we listened to it recently, but it feels like someone smarter than me could make some insightful comparisons between this and Illinois. That album jumped into my head within a few tracks of re-listening to The Suburbs, despite this album being much more traditionally "rock" sounding.

Also, I'm starting to feel like interplay between male and female vocalists is a thing for me. It's not quite as prevalent here as it is with Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal or The xx - xx, but there's something about that dichotomy which seems to please my brain.

Johnbobb: This album is all solid, but for it's length I definitely kinda wish there was more variety to its sound. It sounds like it's intended to be a coming-of-age movie soundtrack, but one that couldn't afford to get Sufjan Stevens. It was also considerably stronger in the first half.

Fluttershy_Pony: I really liked this album. I don't usually revisit albums that we've covered too often (outside of the "Rank the Albums" period where I need to refresh my memories), even the ones that I enjoy, because it can be a bit rough trying to make extra time for it. I need to prepare to listen to whatever our next album is, there's usually an unrelated music topic or two on board that I'm trying to follow, I've got my own music that I want to listen to, and sometimes I do things other than listen to music. So, dropping everything to sneak in one extra listen and rearrange my list is very out of character for me & is a pretty good sign that I'd rank this as one of the top tier albums we've covered.

[Later, after having finished the relisten]

Well, it's definitely a long album. I'd say I really, really like about half of it; I suppose if I were to score every song on the album and average them to give a "fair" ranking, this would *probably* wind up several spaces lower in my Rank the Albums list than it's going to... but seven high scoring songs, for me, more than makes up for any parts of the album that try to drag it down.

Seanchan: I'm still a little surprised that I enjoy this album as much as I do, as it feels a little bit out of my normal wheelhouse. And I say that dating back to originally listening to this album in the wake of it winning a Grammy back over a decade ago. This isn't an "artsy" album per se, but it probably has "more to say" than most other albums I liked back then? I don't know. That still doesn't feel quite right. Maybe it's just that there's almost nothing here I'd consider a "radio hit" and yet this is a very strong album with lots of fun hooks.

Ultimately, for me this is an album that's more than the sum of its parts.I found it difficult to do the ranking and feel like this could have fluctuated pretty wildly if I was doing it at a different time. In very quickly scrolling past the rankings submitted so far, I suspect this one is going to be all over the place with lots of songs in someone's top 5 and someone else's bottom 5.

Thinking about the album as a whole, it feels like the pillars are The Suburbs, Suburban War (espeically with some of the lyrics brought back from that initial track), and Sprawl II. Those are the 3 songs that encapsulate the tone, vibe, and message of the album.

MaxGalactica: I liked this album a lot more than I expected when I previewed the album during the initial vote for this album. Several high quality, catchy songs. The top 6 in my ranking are all songs that I'd definitely go back to in the future (Sprawl II, Ready to Start, Empty Room, Half Light II, The Suburbs, and Modern Man). Great album with great songwriting.

HBJDubs: I didn't really get into Arcade Fire back then but I like this album a lot more now (same goes for Funeral). Nothing in particular stands out but I think that's by design and a good call, everything sounds better together.

Sheep007: Good album, I've heard a few of the songs here before and I think they're actually better in terms of this album than by themselves. It comes together as a cohesive whole and the songs range from excellent to fine enough - I think there's a dropoff in the middle, but it's back to being pretty good when it comes full circle on the theme towards the end. The top three was pretty tight - I think The Suburbs isn't quite as unique as Sprawl II, but it sounds bloody good, and same with Ready to Start.

Blur: I am quite surprised how much I enjoy this record now. I considered it a pretty big disappointment on release, and while I still don't think it reaches the heights that Funeral and Neon Bible do - or at least doesn't reach those heights as consistently - I enjoy it so much more than I used to. At the very least, it's probably Arcade Fire's most poignant album.

Shocked at the diversity of rankings on We Used to Wait! I have always adored that song so much. It was initially hard to pick between that and Sprawl II for the top spot. I've listened to more of We Used to Wait over the years...but that's not enough to give it the edge. Sprawl II is an unimpeachable masterpiece. Inject me with that beautiful synth. Don't think I've ever enjoyed Chassagne's vocals more.

Suburban War rounds out the top three with a bang. The guitar work might be simple, but it's probably my favorite riff on the album. Both Win's lyrics and vocals are the perfect amount of melancholy here, and the last minute of this song is sublime.

Half Light is just sheer beauty. A very ethereal song. While I feel like I could use that word to describe a third of this album, this song does it best.

The next four are about equal levels of greatness and I really struggled to rank them. Deep Blue sounds like a lost Bon Iver song and I'm here for it. Poignant, nostalgic lyrics bolstered by a beautiful piano. Feels ahead of its time with an anti-technology/social media message. Ready to Start is simultaneously catchy and grim and just a tsunami of energy. The Suburbs is an excellent, tone-setting opener. Modern Man has some of my favorite lyrics and the best guitar work on the album.

Half Light II doesn't hit me as hard emotionally as its predecessor, but this upbeat follow-up makes up for it with its catchiness. Another standout for the songwriting.

Empty Room is such a great little jam. Love the ethereal vocals juxtaposed with a blistering guitar and intense drums. Wasted Hours is a lovely little nostalgic ditty that feels like a Kimya Dawson song with richer instrumentation.

11 great tracks and we finally have a quality drop off. City With No Children might be the poppiest song on the record, but it's also one of the most forgettable. Rococo is almost as forgettable, but at least has pretty vocals. The Suburbs (continued) would be a nothing track, but the final lines are such a haunting end to the record that I have to give it a little love. Finally, Month of May has some great energy, but it's ultimately the only song on the album I don't really care for.