September 19, 2005

Arcade Fire: Rebellion (Lies)

Dance, you’re all doomed!

Photo Gallery: Arcade Fire

Yes, it begins with the same stadium-bound bass riff you’d find on
U2’s ‘Joshua Tree’, but Arcade Fire know that sounding big doesn’t always have to involve a follically-challenged midget attempting to end Algerian debt during the middle eight. Instead, the pianos, crashing cymbals, guitars, strings and assorted kitchen sinks deafeningly call time on stripped-back grot-rock, leading us towards a new dawn of ambition, where it takes more than 57p and access to Dominic Masters’ flat to make a record. With a wailing bloke declaring the human race to be Officially Fucked and a video involving a march across a graveyard, what we have here is essentially The Soundtrack To Terror Britain (The Dance Remixes). Quite how a record can be this emotionally draining, mind-bogglingly constructed and suitable for a 3am slot at any indie disco is something that astounds most human ears and causes passing members of Nada Surf to wake up in a cold sweat. As for the deeply unsettling message about how we’re living in a world of manipulation… erm, we were too busy dancing to care. Sorry. But we suspect you will be too.

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