Arcade Fire broke through to the masses by creating a sprawling, introspective albu about where they came from. Watch the story HERE.
BEGINNING AS A MODEST PROJECT AMONG FRIENDS, ARCADE FIRE WAS FOUNDED IN 2000 IN MONTREAL BY FRONTMAN AND CHIEF SONGWRITER WIN BUTLER. HOWEVER, THE EXPLOSIVE CATHARSIS ON THE BAND’S 2004 DEBUT ALBUM, FUNERAL, AND THEIR UNCANNY ABILITY TO CONJURE ECHOES OF BOTH THE CURE AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ON THEIR SOPHOMORE ALBUM NEON BIBLE, GAVE ARCADE FIRE A MASSIVE PLATFORM AS NOT ONLY THE FIGUREHEADS OF THE MONTREAL INDIE SCENE, BUT AS THE ZEITGEIST OF ALTERNATIVE ROCK FOR THE 2010's.
ACCOLADES ASIDE, WIN BUTLER KNEW HE WANTED TO CHANGE THE FORMULA FOR THE BAND’S THIRD ALBUM. ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST AND KEY ARCADE FIRE MEMBER WILLIAM BUTLER, WIN SOUGHT TO PAY HOMAGE TO THE HOUSTON, TEXAS SUBURBS WHERE HE GREW UP.
THE SOUND OF THE NEW ALBUM WOULD BE A COMBINATION OF “DEPECHE MODE AND NEIL YOUNG”, THE ARTISTS THAT THE BUTLERS GREW UP LISTENING TO. AND WHILE THE RECORD WOULD FOCUS ON THE YOUTHFUL MALAISE OF SUBURBAN LIFE, IT WOULDN’T BE A CRITIQUE. WIN BUTLER HAS SINCE SAID THE ALBUM WAS “NEITHER A LOVE LETTER TO, NOR AN INDICTMENT OF THE SUBURBS - BUT A LETTER FROM THE SUBURBS.”
MOST OF THE WORK ON THE SUBURBS TOOK PLACE AT WIN BUTLER’S HOME STUDIO IN MONTREAL, WHERE HE LIVED WITH ARCADE FIRE CO-FOUNDER AND HIS WIFE, MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST REGINE CHASSAGNE. THE BAND AT THE TIME CONSISTED OF THE BUTLERS, REGINE, DRUMMER JEREMY GARA, VIOLINIST SARAH NEUFELD, AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALISTS TIM KINGSBURY AND RICHARD REED PARRY.
WHILE THE RECORD WAS PRODUCED BY THE BAND, THEY WERE JOINED IN-STUDIO BY VETERAN MARKUS DRAVS, WHO HAD WORKED WITH THEM PREVIOUSLY ON NEON BIBLE. HE WOULD ALSO WORK WITH ARCADE FIRE ON THEIR NEXT ALBUM, 2013's REFLEKTOR, AND WOULD WIN A GRAMMY FOR HIS WORK ON COLDPLAY’S VIVA LA VIDA, A GIG HE ACQUIRED COURTESY OF WIN BUTLER’S RECOMMENDATION TO CHRIS MARTIN.
THE ALBUM’S RELEASE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY SIX SINGLES, FIVE OF WHICH APPEARED ON THE FINAL CUT. FIRST SINGLE, “THE SUBURBS”/”MONTH OF MAY” SHOWCASED THE BAND’S AFFECTION FOR MAXIMALIST AND BAROQUE INSTRUMENTATION, WHILE MAINTAINING THE RAW YOUTHFUL AGGRESSION WIN BUTLER WANTED FOR THE ALBUM. OTHER SINGLES INCLUDED “CITY WITH NO CHILDREN”, “SPRAWL II (MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS)”, AND “READY TO START”, REACHING A NEW BILLBOARD PEAK FOR THE BAND AT NUMBER SIXTEEN ON THE ALTERNATIVE SONGS CHART.
RELEASED ON AUGUST 2, 2010, THE SUBURBS DEBUTED AT NUMBER ONE ON THE IRISH AND UK ALBUMS CHARTS, AS WELL AS ON THE U.S. BILLBOARD TOP TWO-HUNDRED AND CANADIAN ALBUMS CHART. IT WAS A COMMERCIAL AND CRITICAL TRIUMPH FOR THE BAND, WINNING THEM ALBUM OF THE YEAR AT THE 2011 GRAMMYS AND THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS, AS WELL AS BEST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM AT THE 2011 BRIT AWARDS.
THE SUBURBS WENT ON TO TOP MANY END OF THE YEAR AND END OF THE DECADE LISTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM BBC 6, CLASH! MAGAZINE, AND EXCLAIM! IT WAS PITCHFORK’S ELEVENTH FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2010 AND ROLLING STONE’S FOURTH FAVORITE.
COMPLEMENT THE ALBUM WITH A SHORT FILM DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE, AND IT’S CLEAR THAT THE SUBURBS WAS A GAME-CHANGER, INSPIRING SOME OF THE TOP ALTERNATIVE ACTS OF THE 2010's, FROM FLORENCE + THE MACHINE TO MUMFORD AND SONS TO LORDE. FOR IT’S LYRICS DEALING WITH CLASS STRUGGLE, EXPLOSIVE YET COMPOSED MUSICIANSHIP, AND FOR PROPELLING WIN BUTLER AND COMPANY INTO INTERNATIONAL STARDOM, THE SUBURBS BY ARCADE FIRE IS OUR GREATEST ALBUM EVER... THIS WEEK.