Track Listing

1. Black Mirror
2. Keep The Car Running
3. Neon Bible
4. Intervention
5. Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations
6. Ocean of Noise
7. The Well and The Lighthouse
8. (Antichrist Television Blues)
9. Windowsill
10. No Cars Go
11. My Body Is A Cage

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1655 in Music
• Released on: 2007-03-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 47 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
How do the Arcade Fire follow-up not just one of the best debut albums ever, but possibly also one of the best indie albums of all time? Well, Neon Bible is a good place to start. After the success of Funeral, expectations were high for a follow up. But really, how could any band be expected to repeat that level of achievement twice in a row? And who can fault a band for setting their own standards so high? If there's one criticism of Neon Bible (named after author John Kennedy Toole's first novel), it's that it's not Funeral. But any other band would consider Neon Bible a towering achievement, for the simple reason that it is. "Keep the Car Running" displays all of the trademarks of the Arcade Fire's best work, building to a crescendo by adding layers and layers of synths to a deceptively simple tune. "Intervention", meanwhile, is easily the biggest-sounding song they've yet recorded, exploding with pipe organ over strummed guitars, strings and a choir. Occasionally, lead singer Win Butler risks being lost behind all of this noise, particularly as his voice has lost some of the strained intensity that made Funeral so affecting (and in fact, on "(Antichrist Television Blues)" he even sounds a bit like 80's-era Springsteen). But there's no denying that Neon Bible is a stellar album, from a band worth discovering. --Ted Kord

CD Description
The sophomore release from Canada's premier alt folk-rock multi-instrumentalists is the eagerly anticipated follow up to 'Funeral,' one of the surprise smash hits of 2005. Described as "like standing by the ocean at night" by lead singer Win Butler, 'Neon Bible' is a collection of huge, multi-layered masterpieces which include an incredible range of textures and instruments, including a full Hungarian orchestra and a military choir which easily surpasses its predecessor in terms of originality, scope and accessibility. Includes the single 'Keep The Car Running.'

Customer Reviews

satire AND a church organ
Everyone reviewing this album seems to have to choose either the can't-beat-Funeral-EVER or wow-WAY-better-than-Funeral approach. To me they are two different records, and you should appreciate them both in their own way! This one is certainly bigger, darker and slightly more experienced, and if that's what you like buy it RIGHT NOW. The gradually building layers of different instruments are just beautiful, and I keep finding random bits of lyrics swimming agreeably round in my head (MTV, what have you done to me? Save my soul, set me free!...). Every single song is my favourite. They are all fantastic little masterpieces.

Possible heirs to the throne...
It is true, after all. Arcade Fire have progressed beyond all expectations since their debut, 'Funeral', turning a style into a true statement. This album is both dichordant and tuneful, both melancholy and uplifting. Although I am loathe to mention this album in the same breath as 'Ok Computer', there is no other comparison possible for this supremely talented band. In turns powerful, superbly moody and visionary, Arcade Fire simply -know- what is required of them.

This album, from its towering melodies and haunting rhymes, seems to capture the mood of a nation, and indeed the world in one glorious burst. It is indeed the snapshot of 'the now' that is so unnerving and sets this work of genius apart from the others. It is the political content, skyscraping tunes and accessiblity that marks it out as a classic in every sense of the word. From the early insecurity of the 'Black Mirror', through to the haunting tones of 'My Body Is A Cage', you are by turns challenged, inspired and rewarded in equal measure by a band that has seeemingly taken 19th century ideals and shown the world the ghastly reflection of its own creation in a neat (almost) hour-long package.

You would be a fool to ignore the message and at the very least, this supremely talented band. They will be lauded for years to come for this supreme effort and you would be so wrong to dismiss it.

A true classic. 10/10.

A big album
Funeral felt personal; this record feels bigger. Great novelists start with autobiographical work, and then develop a wider sweep.This is what AF have done on their second album. Whether it be through a house on fire or a rising sea, Neon Bible takes us into the dark days of the 21st century with music and vocals reminiscent at times of bygone artists and eras (Springsteen, Echo and the Bunnymen, Prefab Sprout to cite a few), but stamped with AF's own unique madness and ambition.
Occasionally, just occasionally, there is overreach on this album.The title track is not magnificent, and Win Butler's vocals are not as strong as they could be.
Yet I still prefer it to Funeral, if only for the beauty of the penultimate track on the album - "No Cars Go", which seems to have been overlooked by other reviewers.