The Suburbs
by Arcade Fire
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Aug 3, 2010
User Score
8.8

Universal acclaim- based on 792 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 732 out of 792
  2. Mixed: 28 out of 792
  3. Negative: 32 out of 792
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  1. mightymax
    Aug 14, 2010
    10
    Album of the year. Builds on the first two albums to find a slightly more accessible sound than Neon Bible. In that respect it reminds me of how "Dear Science" fits into TVOTR's catalogue, or "In Rainbows".
  2. e_levation
    Aug 14, 2010
    10
    Masterpieces. The best album of the year. Third album and third masterpiece. Arcade Fire confirms will be the best band actually. Amazing. Songs like Rococo and Mountains Beyoond Mountains are the best. Classic! Fantastic!
  3. Jarvie
    Aug 14, 2010
    9
    One morning a few years ago as a journalist with a part-time gig as a music reviewer, Funeral arrived on my desk. I knew little about Arcade Fire, save some glowing, perhaps over-enthusiastic reviews I'd read on the internet. The release of Funeral coincided with the worst year of my life; my marriage had failed, I hardly ever saw my kids. There was no joy anywhere. I half suspectedOne morning a few years ago as a journalist with a part-time gig as a music reviewer, Funeral arrived on my desk. I knew little about Arcade Fire, save some glowing, perhaps over-enthusiastic reviews I'd read on the internet. The release of Funeral coincided with the worst year of my life; my marriage had failed, I hardly ever saw my kids. There was no joy anywhere. I half suspected one of my peers had given me the cd to review as a joke.
    A cliche perhaps, but Funeral became the soundtrack to my life. I recall saying in a newspaper column that the album was the best album of the new millennium from the most promising band I'd heard in years. It changed my life in ways no record had before, save perhaps The Soft Bulletin.
    I can admire Neon Bible. A masterpiece of restrained power. I'd liken it to Arcade Fire's The Bends. But it didn't move me.
    Being a traditionalist, I'd waited for The Suburbs to arrive in my local store on vinyl rather than picking up the cd on release day. For three days now, I've played nothing else. I've cried. I've felt tingles up my spine. I've searched the internet for airfares to the next live show.
    In short, thank you Arcade Fire. The world is a better place thanks to you.    … Expand
  4. whit
    Aug 13, 2010
    8
    I only had a passing knowledge of Arcade Fire until very recently. I saw them perform 2 songs on The Daily Show and decided to purchase this album. Only been listening for a few days now, but I'm impressed.
  5. NYCMark
    Aug 13, 2010
    10
    "The Suburbs" is a masterpiece, possibly the greatest album so far of the 21st century. It's like a Martin Scorsese movie in the sense that there isn't a wasted second. Every detail has been meticulously crafted, from every musical note to every lyric. This album is as close to perfection as it gets. But it's so deep and nuanced and passionate and heartfelt that it takes time to peel"The Suburbs" is a masterpiece, possibly the greatest album so far of the 21st century. It's like a Martin Scorsese movie in the sense that there isn't a wasted second. Every detail has been meticulously crafted, from every musical note to every lyric. This album is as close to perfection as it gets. But it's so deep and nuanced and passionate and heartfelt that it takes time to peel off every layer to realize just how unbelievably substantive this album is. Arcade Fire comes as close to matching Bruce Springsteen during his heyday as we're ever likely to get.… Collapse
  6. kango
    Aug 13, 2010
    9
    Arcade Fire's third album is a little different to their previous two. On first listen, it appears that the crescendos and walls of sound we've come to expect have mostly been faded out to be replaced by more space and an unhurried saunter through the places the Butler's grew up in. None of this is bad; the band as tight and melodies as gorgeous as ever. Two tracks highlight the band'sArcade Fire's third album is a little different to their previous two. On first listen, it appears that the crescendos and walls of sound we've come to expect have mostly been faded out to be replaced by more space and an unhurried saunter through the places the Butler's grew up in. None of this is bad; the band as tight and melodies as gorgeous as ever. Two tracks highlight the band's fondness for new sounds. The first, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) goes into electro territory, Regine's vocals perfectly complimenting the mirrorball soundtrack. The second, Month Of May takes things in the direction of straight ahead punk rock but is no less stirring than when the church organs are ramped up to 11. These are sounds I hope we will be hearing more of in the future. For now though, this is a very modern blend of folk rock and synth pop which should open the door to wider popularity. Best of the homely gems for my money is City With No Children. It quickly achieves lift-off the same way as Rebellion or No Cars Go do on previous albums. And then back down to earth... but never for long. It's this pattern of peaks and troughs that run throughout the album; a collection of stunningly played songs put together with some thought. One reason to press an album on to plastic, and then play it from beginning to end.… Expand
  7. JUIKER
    Aug 13, 2010
    9
    This might be the best Arcade Fire album yet. That's everything you need to know. 16 songs long, this album is sure to have at least ten songs worth soaking in for a long time to come.
  8. BKM
    Aug 12, 2010
    9
    Great album. One of the year's best. It seems somewhat conventional at first listen, but I was immediately compelled to go back and revisit it in its entirety. It is a deeply felt album about the uneasy passage from youth to adulthood and the fears and anxieties that go along with the transition. It also flat out rocks. What more can you ask for?
  9. Chonquist
    Aug 12, 2010
    10
    This is honesty the best album i have ever heard, it has some soft songs and some more rock songs that hit the ball out of the park, no one will be disappointed with this album.
  10. koblesky
    Aug 12, 2010
    10
    I cannot stop listening to this. I thought after a lot of listening for a week that I was getting tired of it, but I found myself coming back to it and finding new things to appreciate about the songs. For me they all are get better over time. It is different than their other records, but still them. It is serious, but not heavy. The various influences are obvious to hear, but only inI cannot stop listening to this. I thought after a lot of listening for a week that I was getting tired of it, but I found myself coming back to it and finding new things to appreciate about the songs. For me they all are get better over time. It is different than their other records, but still them. It is serious, but not heavy. The various influences are obvious to hear, but only in an additive way that makes the music better. There is a lot of variety, but it is all Arcade Fire. If you are looking for the rhythmic intensity and highs of their past two, you will find it - and a lot more. It's kind of hard to describe what makes it so good. I think in the end that is one of the keys to it being really good.… Expand
  11. Rodolfo
    Aug 11, 2010
    10
    A complete work of art, an entire concept album that works. Incredible. Amazing. Sprawl II is the dance hit of the decade (once it's remixed to be harder).
  12. keibro
    Aug 11, 2010
    10
    Three extraordinary albums in a row. This band does not repeat itself. With each album Arcade Fire breathes new life into contemporary music. I think this album is as every bit good as the previous two . . . and that's saying something.
  13. mmiller113
    Aug 11, 2010
    10
    There are great albums and there are masterpieces. The only difference between the two is that a masterpiece, while being equally solid from top to bottom, possesses an ethereal quality about it, as if the album is alive and has its own distinct personality. The Suburbs is a masterpiece for that very reason. Every track is solid on its own merit, but it's when the album is taken as a wholeThere are great albums and there are masterpieces. The only difference between the two is that a masterpiece, while being equally solid from top to bottom, possesses an ethereal quality about it, as if the album is alive and has its own distinct personality. The Suburbs is a masterpiece for that very reason. Every track is solid on its own merit, but it's when the album is taken as a whole that it comes to life. There is no standout track; set aside an hour and absorb it in its entirety.… Expand
  14. opennoise
    Aug 11, 2010
    10
    Neon Bible did a curious thing to Arcade Fire. It made them popular. Sure, it wasnâ
  15. sucitivel
    Aug 11, 2010
    9
    This is an excellent release from a band that continues to build a strong core repertoire of songs. Clearly a departure from darker subject material of previous album releases, and a little more folk sounding as well. Really dig the brief foray into the 80's synth-pop sound a la Sprawl II and wish there was a bit more of it!
  16. noburns
    Aug 11, 2010
    6
    This is a decent album, however it is not in the ballpark, league or universe of Funeral (their debut) and Neon Bible was pretty darn good too. It's hard to see them reach the highest of highs and to wait years for their next and then get something that's just decent.
  17. aabender002
    Aug 11, 2010
    8
    Arcade Fire are definitely maturing and expanding their sound, and those who say that they can never top 'Funeral' might want to give their subsequent albums a more careful listen.
  18. GhostriderMWW
    Aug 10, 2010
    9
    This is a very solid effort;Arcade Fire's sound keeps evolving and this album proves it. My two favorites right now are Sprawl 2 & Half Light I. The former is poppy and sugary-sweet, while the latter is hypnotic and trippy.
  19. Doug
    Aug 9, 2010
    9
    These guys are getting better every album. I was inspired to buy this album on Amazon.com for $3.99 after watching the live concert on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ArcadeFireVEVO
  20. Christopher
    Aug 9, 2010
    6
    If you like lifeless mediocre dad rock, this will likely be your album of the year.
  21. LukassP
    Aug 8, 2010
    10
    Pure Genius! This album blows me away every time! I was brought to tears by the second song my first listen.
  22. MusicMaven
    Aug 8, 2010
    10
    This another amazing release from the best indie band of the past decade. They capture the boredom, restlessness, and miniature triumphs and tragedies of growing up in suburbia in songs that alternately soar above, rage against, nostalgically remember, and perhaps even celebrate, suburban life. Maybe the theme is not as universal as on their first two albums, but the music is more This another amazing release from the best indie band of the past decade. They capture the boredom, restlessness, and miniature triumphs and tragedies of growing up in suburbia in songs that alternately soar above, rage against, nostalgically remember, and perhaps even celebrate, suburban life. Maybe the theme is not as universal as on their first two albums, but the music is more confident and inventive. Destined to become a classic.… Expand
  23. MorganK
    Aug 7, 2010
    5
    Not in the ballpark of Funeral, though they do work to recreate that sparer sound, largely dropping the bombast from the trying-too-hard Neon Bible. They certainly have pushed their early The Cure influences to the forefront. It starts fairly strong - The Suburbs (and its album-closing revisit) is solid and Ready to Start is certainly the highlight of the album - but the majority of the Not in the ballpark of Funeral, though they do work to recreate that sparer sound, largely dropping the bombast from the trying-too-hard Neon Bible. They certainly have pushed their early The Cure influences to the forefront. It starts fairly strong - The Suburbs (and its album-closing revisit) is solid and Ready to Start is certainly the highlight of the album - but the majority of the tracks that follow fall rather flat. Modern Man fulfills the E-Street comparisons they've garnered for a while and is pretty dire, lyrically. The hipster-bashing Rococo is a fire and a miss, attacking a strawman target, and even worse, is annoying. Empty Room is short and pretty, but disappears quickly into the hand-clappy and dull City With No Children and the Beach House-y Half Light I. The tempo, and quality, picks back up briefly with the the second part, Half Light II, which wouldn't sound out of place on Achtung Baby. Month of May serves as a merciful change of pace, a little bit poppy post-punk, but it's still remarkably slight. After that, the album pretty much disappears into an unmemorable haze until it hits the two-part The Sprawl - the first half, Flatland, is pretty great and is the only thing that sounds like a genuine moment on the record. Too bad then it's followed up with the ABBA-esque second half, Mountains Beyond Mountains, with the most eye-rolling put-upon-artist lyrics in an album already filled with them: "They heard me singing and they told me to stop / quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock." Sadly, the album frequently delves into pitting the narrator against a phantom 'Them' or 'They' which is a really juvenile antagonist, it's vague, paranoid, and uninformed. If the band's hook is a world-weary adult's look back at the decline of childhood innocence, the lazy intangible of 'they' undermines anything learned from it. The repeated focus on being children and having children (riding bikes, running through the yard, learning to drive, etc.) and on placing them both in a nostalgic 1982 Steven Spielberg neighborhood ultimately doesn't cover any ground that the far superior Funeral didn't, and the lack of that record's energy, pathos and lyrical acumen make this seem largely redundant, and clearly lesser. I get that's the Arcade Fire's shtick, and perhaps it's not fair to always hold a band up to their earlier high-water mark, but the band themselves are so insistent on revisiting those same themes that the comparison is all but inevitable. There's a point where the romanticizing of childhood wonder falls away to a creepy Peter Pan refusal to accept growing up. Ultimately, a pretty solid disappointment, especially coming after the just-ok Neon Bible, and it leaves you with a feeling of a fizzled band that couldn't top their early flash of inspiration - a story arc not dissimilar to The Strokes. It's not awful, by any means, but it's uninspired and frequently just dull. There are so many directions that Arcade Fire could have taken their sound and achieved something compelling - I'm thinking of Nick Drake's Bryter Layter, Nick Cave's From Her to Eternity, Folklore, an orchestral take on Liars' Drum's Not Dead - anything but a less-engaging, overlong rehash of the album they made their name on.… Expand
  24. PeterP
    Aug 7, 2010
    10
    An incredible album from this Canadian band. Multiple genres are represented in this sweeping epic but it's rock at it's best when combined.
  25. BrianR.
    Aug 6, 2010
    6
    Worst album of the catalogue. Too long for what it actually contains. None of the good sing-along moments from the first two albums. Rococo was my favorite track.
  26. petera
    Aug 6, 2010
    10
    What an incredibly band! Their music serves as the soundtrack to my life in the 21st C. This new album has been on replay for the past day and is only interrupted by occasional listens to the first two albums-. Most bands are lucky to create one great song. This band has created three masterpiece albums!
  27. Craig
    Aug 6, 2010
    5
    I have to believe that all the favorable reviews of the album are more a sign of the overall mediocre output from the entire music industry. The songs are just average and the music is nothing to get excited about. Few people will play this album a year from now.
  28. BrianD.
    Aug 6, 2010
    10
    On par with Funeral and may grow to be better with age. A bitter, but hopeful meditation on "living in sprawl, dead shopping malls". A great modern epic. Get this now.
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Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Best Album of 2010
8
#8 Most Discussed Album of 2010
15
#15 Most Shared Album of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
  1. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Jan 5, 2011
    91
    With beats this straight and stolid, you'd better keep the anthems coming, and they do, almost.
    Read full review
  2. AllMusic
    80
    It's serious without being preachy, cynical without dissolving into apathy, and whimsical enough to keep both sentiments in line, and of all of their records, it may be the one that ages so well.
    Read full review
  3. Dusted Magazine
    90
    The Suburbs is a really good record, but it's clear that indie rock is not in Kansas anymore.
    Read full review
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