'The Suburbs' by Arcade Fire turns 10

[Blader]

Loved it then, love it now. Beyond the same mixed-feelings nostalgia I have for my own suburban childhood that others have talked about (and the album is essentially about), the summer after it came out I was living in LA for a bit and playing this basically nonstop, which only intensified those feelings.

This is my favorite album of the past decade. A perfect, if not flawless, record for me. And having seen them three times over the years, there are few songs better and more purely fun to watch live than Sprawl II.

 

[BarringGaffner]

I'd say this is in competition for best album of the 00's. Incredible album.

 

[JohnsonUT]

Just a perfect rock album for the very late gen xers and early millennial suburb kids. It encapsulates the juxtaposition of our childhood and the promises that were made to us with the reality that was being a young adult post-financial crisis (the first one). It makes you look back and reflect on if your memories are real and genuine. I feel the album does tend to validate our yearning for the past while expressing the giant caveat that there are massive consequences to the suburban life that makes up the "American Dream."

 

[GamerJM]

Still a boring ass album and weak compared to a lot of indie/alternative rock from around that time period. Time still flies, though.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

This album helped me through a tough period of my life. Hardly believe it's already a decade old, though!

 

[Jeremy]

I don't especially like Arcade Fire albums, but they easily put on one of the best live acts that I've ever seen!

If you ever get the chance to see them live, definitely take advantage.

 

[hidys]

I would argue it's Arcade Fire's best album.

 

[Jakenbakin]

I think I liked Funeral more, but honestly haven't listened to either in years so I might need to go back and reevaluate lol. Loved Sprawl II a lot, though, I think it's the only Arcade Fire song I've ever remembered to put on my Spotify.

 

[Piston]

I remember bouncing off this album when it first came out. But slowly, it became one of my favourite albums - one of those albums that I've backflipped on.

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It was a big disappointment to me the first time I listened to it after Funeral and Neon Bible. It was not what I was expecting at the time and lacked the same apparent emotion and pain that their first two albums lived off of. As the years pass on, I have become more fond of it and what it was going for.

Too bad that same phenomenon hasn't happened with Reflektor or Everything Now.

 

[Blugrass]

damn good album. deserves all the acclaim that it gets

 

[BarringGaffner]

Still a boring ass album and weak compared to a lot of indie/alternative rock from around that time period. Time still flies, though.

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You can do better than that drive by troll. Just curious what you preferred that year? It was a pretty great year for sure- with quite a few albums that I still listen to to this day. Caribou 'Swim', Deerhunter 'Halcyon Digest' and Ariel Pink 'Before Today'.

 

[CrocoDuck]

Great album with fantastic songs. Sprawls II sounds very reminiscent to Blondies Heart of Glass and, yes, the album does sound nostalgic - even if you didn't grow up in the suburbs.

 

[GamerJM]

You can do better than that drive by troll. Just curious what you preferred that year? It was a pretty great year for sure- with quite a few albums that I still listen to to this day. Caribou 'Swim', Deerhunter 'Halcyon Digest' and Ariel Pink 'Before Today'.

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Ariel Pink's Before Today and Tame Impala's Innerspeaker were the first that came to mind.

 

[Pascal]

Great album. Listened to it constantly back in high school.

Somtimes I can't believe it
I'm moving past the feeling

 

[OtterMatic]

Spawl II is still one of the best songs in my list.

 

[blanton]

I like Neon Bible a little more.

Arcade Fire is 10 people doing the work of 4.

 

[Keywork]

Easily one of my favorite albums. It hit something deep inside of me when I listened to it for the first time and still elicits almost the same effect 10 years later. It is a special album to me.

 

[madame x]

Sprawl II is gorgeous but this will always be their weakest album since it's pretty filler heavy

 

[M4xim1l1ano]

Is this the album with the song that Google used to show of HTML5 with google maps and what not?

something "I used to run".. perhaps?

 

[Deleted member 69573]

The Suburbs is a more coherent album than Reflektor but less interesting imo. Still a classic and I can't fault anyone who calls it their favourite of their discog.

The less said about the bad parts of Everything Now the better...

 

[SeroTyler]

This show is still so magical.

 

[Mahonay]

For me it feels like fucking 20 years ago.

I vividly remember riding around the NYC subways listening to this album. So much in my life has happened since then. Everything is different now. It feels like a completely different life not connected to this one. It's bizarre. I am a recovering alcoholic though so that probably has a lot to do with it.

 

[Kevers]

Not much Rococo love in here.

 

[hateradio]

I was always impressed to indifferent to this album. I liked their EP a lot more.

 

[Mariachi507]

I liked The Suburbs but I'm the kind of weirdo who thinks Reflektor is in a close tie with Funeral as their GOAT album and thinks Neon Bible is trash.

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Sounds like my kind of weirdo.

Well, I won't go as far as to say that Neon Bible is trash, but it's my least fav of the first four.

Funeral < Reflektor <<< The Suburbs <<< Neon Bible

Edit: I do think it's time to possibly reevaluate though. I've been relistening to The National for the last week, I think I'll move onto Arcade Fire next.

 

[Cliff Steele]

Fuck I'm old.

Was the first thing that came to my mind reading the headline.

Amazing album tho

 

[dodo]

Not much Rococo love in here.

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i'm one of those people who thinks the suburbs is their best album and i still think rococo sucks. it's a triple whammy of weirdly placed on the album track list, annoying/too long, and thematically incredibly smug and kind of repellant. it's the only knock against a stunning album imo

anyway the suburbs > neon bible > funeral > reflektor >>> everything now

 

[Deleted member 69573]

Rococo is like a highlight of the album for me haha crazy how divisive that song is

 

[liquidtmd]

Title track and its reprise are fantastic, album as a whole is decent

The last Arcade Fire album that really spoke to me. I tried with the others, I genuinely did

Reflektor as a song with pretty good I guess

 

[AusGeno]

It became my favourite AF album when it was released and they haven't put out anything to change my mind yet.

 

[Humidex]

Top album. Sprawl II is always a joy to listen to. But the other one that I really, really liked? Deep Blue.

 

[Sasliquid]

Great album that helped me get into modern indie. I prefer Funeral and Reflector tho.

 

[Neifirst]

Several tracks like Read to Start and We Used to Wait are among my favorites, but Funeral continues to be my favorite album of theirs and I'm in the minority that likes the direction they've taken with Reflektor and Everything Now.

Their most recent tour had just about the perfect mix of songs from all 5 albums

 

[Jam]

My favourite band so I'm biased, but the album is a masterpiece and their second best.

The album creates an incredible feel of nostalgia and setting.

 

[thenexus6]

This is my fav track in UNI I helped someone on their final project (film) and he used this in a short sequence, stuck with me ever since for some reason.

 

[gimmmick]

Was lucky to snag tickets to there concert when they came to Vegas 2 days before they performed at Coachella. (Buddy of mine had to sell his 2 tickets because his girlfriend at the time just had surgery... he still kicks himself for missing the concert) I'd probably rank it as my 2nd favorite show I have ever attended. They are so great live.

The album was seriously one of my favorites of last decade. It was also the album that put indie rock in prime time with them winning album of the year at the Grammys.

Since we are talking about the topic, can't leave this thread without posting the concert from MSG.

 

[Deleted member 69573]

This is my fav track in UNI I helped someone on their final product (film) and he used this in a short sequence, stuck with me ever since for some reason.

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Such a nice way to close out the album. A lot of artists attempt the first song callback in their closing track but it's hard to pull off in a natural feeling way. They even tried it again with Everything Now and as much as I like those songs it just doesn't really make sense on that album. I think the length of The Suburbs and the nostalgic feeling of the album is a reason why it works so well here.

Weyes Blood tried doing something similar on last years Titanic Rising and it was a terrible way to close out what was an excellent album, feels so abrupt.

 

[The Nightsky]

I was obsessed with this album when it released. Listened to it religiously. It's kinda sad but I don't think I've come close to loving an album start-to-finish as much since then. And I definitely don't think Arcade Fire have come close to this level of quality since then. I thought it was a perfect evolution of their sound but then they went in a different direction afterwards that I've just felt completely indifferent to.

Given how long the album is and it's consistent quality I'd definitely say it's a strong contender for best album of the 00's. Feels like an album that really works as an experience too, I always find I enjoy a lot of the tracks a lot more when listening to the full album than I do if I just take them as standalone tracks.

 

[thebeeks]

Wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years. This was the album that got me into Arcade Fire.

Spoiler

Also for what it's worth I liked Everything Now

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Kevers]

Wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years. This was the album that got me into Arcade Fire.

Spoiler

Also for what it's worth I liked Everything Now

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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I like more tracks than I dislike on Everything Now, it's a very fine album that gave us "Put Your Money on Me"

 

[fireworksordie]

the stones on Lollapalooza. they listed the 2010 rebroadcast last night as a full set but cut out multiple songs and banter.

 

[KingK]

Probably my 2nd favorite behind Funeral.

I really love the album, it's just that Funeral is one of the most perfect albums I've ever listened to.

 

[Blader]

I like more tracks than I dislike on Everything Now, it's a very fine album that gave us "Put Your Money on Me"

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Same. I can get why people don't like it (on the other hand I've never understood the hate for Reflektor) but the only tracks I don't like are Chemistry and the faster rock version of Infinite Content. Stuff like Signs of Life and Peter Pan grew on me. Good God Damn has a great bass. And Electric Blue, Put Your Money on Me, and We Don't Deserve Love are just fantastic. Put Your Money on Me should've definitely been a single over Signs of Life or Creature Comfort (which I like but this discordant sound that I imagine turned people off).

 

[Bonefish]

Man I was relistening to it not too long away. It's such a perfect album and the memories associated with it just hit really hard, not to mention just how much of it relates me to me. It's kind of depressing that it's been 10 years since it came out.

also put me on the camp that loves rococo

 

[Distantmantra]

My wife and I saw Arcade Fire on their first US tour in support of Funeral at Neumo's here in Seattle back in 2004. Super small venue and it was amazing. Saw them the next year at Sasquatch Festival and then again during the Suburbs tour at Key Arena. It was crazy to see them at both Nuemo's and then at the Key Arena with 10,000+ people.

 

[shnurgleton]

It's no Funeral, but it's pretty good

 

[caffe misto]

It's a pretty good album. Funeral hit me like a ton of bricks and each one since has been a little weaker than the last (I'm still quite fond of Neon Bible and Suburbs).