The Suburbs

The Suburbs
Studio album by Arcade Fire
Released 2 August 2010 (2010-08-02)
Recorded 2008–10
Genre
Length 63:55
Label
Producer
Arcade Fire chronology
Neon Bible
(2007)Neon Bible2007		 The Suburbs
(2010)		 Reflektor
(2013)Reflektor2013
Singles from The Suburbs
  1. "The Suburbs"/"Month of May"
    Released: June 1, 2010
  2. "We Used to Wait"
    Released: August 1, 2010
  3. "Ready to Start"
    Released: October 3, 2010
  4. "City with No Children"
    Released: March 14, 2011
  5. "Speaking in Tongues [1]"
    Released: June 27, 2011
  6. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"
    Released: April 21, 2012

The Suburbs is the third studio album by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released in August 2010. Coinciding with the announcement the band released a limited edition 12-inch single containing two tracks from the album, "The Suburbs" and "Month of May".[2][3] The album debuted at No. 1 on the Irish Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200 chart,[4] and the Canadian Albums Chart.[5] It won Album of the Year at the 2011 Grammy Awards, Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards, Album of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards, and the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album. Two weeks after winning Grammy's Album of the Year, the album jumped from No. 52 to No. 12 on the Billboard 200, the album's highest ranking since August 2010.[6]

Arcade Fire released a deluxe edition CD/DVD of The Suburbs on June 27, 2011 (everywhere except the U.S. and Canada). The American and Canadian versions were released on August 2, 2011, to coincide with the original album's anniversary. The new version included two brand new tracks recorded during The Suburbs album sessions ("Culture War" and "Speaking in Tongues", the latter featuring David Byrne), an extended version of album track "Wasted Hours", Spike Jonze's short film, Scenes from the Suburbs, and an 80-page booklet as well as other exclusive content.

Background

The album's lyrical content is inspired by band members Win and William Butler's upbringing in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston.[7] According to Win Butler, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it's a letter from the suburbs".[8] The album was recorded in Win Butler and Régine Chassagne's residence in Montreal, with some parts being recorded at the band's studio in Quebec and in New York City.[3] Win Butler describes the overall sound of The Suburbs as "a mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young",[9] stating that he wanted the album to sound like "the bands that I heard when I was very young, and wondered what those crazy noises were".[10] It was released by Merge Records in North America and by Mercury Records in the United Kingdom.

The band pressed each completed song to a 12″ lacquer, then recorded it back for the digital master of the album. There are eight alternative covers for the CD version of the album.[11]

Promotion

A video for "Ready to Start" was released on August 20, 2010, directed by Charlie Lightning and filmed at the band's July 7, 2010 concert at the Hackney Empire in London.[12] On August 30, 2010, an interactive video was released for "We Used to Wait" at http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com, written and directed by Chris Milk, designed in conjunction with Google Chrome, which makes use of Google Maps and Google Street View, and has been featured in Time's "Short List".[13]

Another music video, for the title track "The Suburbs", was released on November 18, 2010, directed by Spike Jonze. The video, filmed in Austin, Texas follows a group of teenagers living in the suburbs and features cameos by Win Butler and Regine Chassagne as police officers. The music video is composed of excerpts from Jonze's short film, Scenes from the Suburbs, which debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival 2011, and has a running time of 30 minutes.[14] Scenes from the Suburbs screened at the SXSW Film Festival 2011 and saw its online premiere on MUBI on June 27, 2011.[15] Writing for the Canadian Press, Nick Patch called the film "a sci-fi puzzler that seems to blend the paranoia of Terry Gilliam films with the nostalgia of classic Steven Spielberg flicks".[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The A.V. ClubA−[19]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[20]
The Guardian[21]
The Independent[22]
MSN MusicA−[23]
NME9/10[24]
Pitchfork8.6/10[25]
Rolling Stone[26]
Spin9/10[27]

Collating 43 reviews, the review aggregator website Metacritic gave The Suburbs an average score of 87, indicating "universal acclaim".[17] Writing for BBC Music, Mike Diver described the album as the band's "most thrillingly engrossing chapter yet; a complex, captivating work that, several cycles down the line, retains the magic and mystery of that first tentative encounter" and stated that "you could call it their OK Computer."[28] Several reviewers compared The Suburbs favourably to Arcade Fire's earlier work. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork called it "a satisfying return to form—proof that Arcade Fire can still make grand statements without sounding like they're carrying the weight of the world".[25] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club described the album as being "like one long sequel" to the band's earlier single "No Cars Go".[19] Q wrote that the band "may well have delivered their masterpiece."[29]

David Marchese, writing in Spin, wrote of the album: "Radiant with apocalyptic tension and grasping to sustain real bonds, [it] extends hungrily outward, recalling the dystopic miasma of William Gibson's sci-fi novels and Sonic Youth's guitar odysseys. Desperate to elude its own corrosive dread, it keeps moving, asking, looking, and making the promise that hope isn't just another spiritual cul-de-sac."[27] NME's reviewer Emily Mackay compared The Suburbs to R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People in the sense of it being "an album that combines mass accessibility with much greater ambition. Pretty much perfect, in other words – and despite their best efforts, listening to it feels just like coming home."[24] Uncut designated the album as their "Album of the Month"; in a 4-star review for the magazine, Alastair McKay called it "a surprising record, swapping the spit and fire of Funeral for a sense of mature playfulness", and concluding that "[it] explores the badlands between safety and boredom. It's nostalgic, with a sense of future dread. There is pain and pleasure, loss and hope. It feels like the anesthetic is wearing off."[30]

Exclaim! listed the album as their No. 1 Pop & Rock Album of 2010.[31] Writer Andrea Warner summarized it as "a perfect actualization of the suburbs as metaphor for the classic North American dream: a smoothly perfect veneer covering up the lush complexity of motivation. It's not just metaphor, but goes a step further to exemplify the quintessential Arcade Fire sound ― a controlled frenzy, pushing and reaching for something more."

The album was also included in the 2011 edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Accolades

On June 16, 2011, the album was named as a long-listed nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.[32] On July 6, The Suburbs was awarded a spot on the shortlist, making it one of ten possible candidates to win $30,000 and the recognition as the best Canadian album of the year as voted by jury of Canadian journalists and broadcasters.[33] On September 19, 2011 it won the Polaris Music Prize.[34]

The album was Album of the Year at the Juno Awards and the 53rd Grammy Awards, earned a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album, won Best International Album at the 2011 BRIT Awards and was also on numerous best-albums-of-the-year lists:

The single “Ready to Start” was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[58]

Track listing

All tracks written by Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry, Jeremy Gara, Win Butler, Will Butler, Régine Chassagne and Tim Kingsbury.

No.TitleLength
1."The Suburbs"5:15
2."Ready to Start"4:15
3."Modern Man"4:39
4."Rococo"3:56
5."Empty Room"2:51
6."City with No Children"3:11
7."Half Light I"4:13
8."Half Light II (No Celebration)"4:25
9."Suburban War"4:45
10."Month of May"3:50
11."Wasted Hours"3:20
12."Deep Blue"4:28
13."We Used to Wait"5:01
14."Sprawl I (Flatland)"2:54
15."Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"5:25
16."The Suburbs (Continued)"1:27

Notes

Personnel

Arcade Fire

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Arcade Fire – (mixing, production, arrangement)
  • Owen Pallett – string arrangements
  • Markus Dravs – co-production
  • Mark Lawson – recording
  • Craig Silvey – mixing
  • Nick Launay – additional mixing (tracks 2, 4 & 15)
  • Marcus Paquin, Don Murnaghan and Noah Goldstein – additional recording
  • Brian Thorn – assistant (Magic Shop)
  • Brad Bell – assistant (Public Hi-Fi)
  • Adam Greenspan – assistant
  • Caroline Robert – artwork design
  • Vincent Morisset – art direction
  • Gabriel Jones – photography (assisted by Joey Matthews & Stephane Fiore)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[60] 6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[61] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[62] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[63] 4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[64] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[65] 2
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[66] 4
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[67] 5
French Albums (SNEP)[68] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[69] 4
Greek Albums (IFPI)[70] 2
Irish Albums (IRMA)[71] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[72] 17
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[73] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[74] 3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[75] 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[76] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[77] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[78] 8
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[79] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[80] 1
US Billboard 200[81] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
UK Albums Chart[82] 57
US Billboard 200[83] 80
Chart (2011) Position
Canadian Albums Chart[84] 48

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
Canada CRIA 2× Platinum[85]
Denmark IFPI Gold[86]
United Kingdom BPI Platinum[87]
United States RIAA Gold[88]

Preceded by
Recovery by Eminem		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
August 8, 2010 		Succeeded by
Recovery by Eminem
Preceded by
Planet Jedward by Jedward		 Irish Albums Chart number-one album
August 6, 2010 – August 13, 2010
Preceded by
Recovery by Eminem		 Canadian Albums Chart number-one album
August 21, 2010
Preceded by
Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold		 U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album
August 21, 2010

See also

References

  1. ↑ "This Week's New Music Releases". NME. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  2. ↑ “Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs to be released August 3”. Nationalpost.com. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  3. 1 2 “Hear Two New Arcade Fire Songs and an Interview”. NPR's All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talked to Arcade Fire's Win and Will Butler about the record, while also offering a special preview of the songs “Month of May” and “The Suburbs.” Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Billboard 200 – Week of August 21, 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  5. ↑ "Arcade Fire heats up charts". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
  6. ↑ "Week Ending Feb 20, 2011: Albums: An Early Birthday Present". Chart Watch. Yahoo!. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  7. ↑ “Arcade Fire reveal meaning behind 'The Suburbs' album title” (May 27, 2010)
  8. ↑ NME Magazine, July 31, 2010, pg. 24
  9. ↑ "New Arcade Fire: 'Depeche Mode Meets Neil Young'". SPIN.com. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  10. ↑ NME Magazine, July 31, 2010, pg. 25
  11. ↑ Prince, David J. (14 July 2010). "Arcade Fire: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard.com. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  12. ↑ "Ready to Start video". YouTube. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  13. ↑ Lev Grossman; Paul Moakley; James Poniewozik; Steven James Snyder; Richard Corliss (September 13, 2010). "Short List: Time's Picks for the week". Time Magazine. p. 67. 4 [MUSIC VIDEO] www.thewildernessdowntown.com
  14. ↑ Richardson, Mark (November 18, 2010). "Watch: Video for Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  15. ↑ Scenes from the Suburbs on MUBI
  16. ↑ Patch, Nick. "Spike Jonze-directed Arcade Fire film not intended as political statement". The Canadian Press. Google News. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  17. 1 2 "Reviews for The Suburbs by Arcade Fire". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  18. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "The Suburbs – Arcade Fire". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  19. 1 2 Murray, Noel (August 3, 2010). "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  20. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (August 4, 2010). "The Suburbs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  21. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (July 29, 2010). "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs". The Guardian. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  22. ↑ Gill, Andy (July 30, 2010). "Album: Arcade Fire, The Suburbs (Sonovox)". The Independent. Archived from the original on August 2, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  23. ↑ Christgau, Robert (November 24, 2010). "M.I.A./The Arcade Fire". MSN Music. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  24. 1 2 Mackay, Emily (July 31, 2010). "Album review: Arcade Fire – 'The Suburbs' (Mercury)". NME. London: 27. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  25. 1 2 Cohen, Ian (August 2, 2010). "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  26. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (July 21, 2010). "The Suburbs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  27. 1 2 Marchese, David (July 21, 2010). "Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs' (Merge)". Spin. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  28. ↑ Diver, Mike (July 21, 2010). "Arcade Fire The Suburbs Review". BBC Music. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs". Q (290): 110. September 2010.
  30. ↑ McKay, Alastair (September 2010). "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs". Uncut. London: 80.
  31. ↑ "Pop & Rock Year in Review". Exclaim!. November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  32. ↑ "2011 Polaris Music Prize Long List announced". aux.tv, June 16, 2011.
  33. ↑ Hudson, Alex. "Polaris Music Prize Rolls Out 2011 Short List". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  34. ↑ "Arcade Fire wins Polaris Prize for music"
  35. ↑ Fire discuss 2010” Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  36. ↑ “Clash's Top 40 Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  37. ↑ & Rock: Year in Review 2010” Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  38. ↑ "Q's Top 50 Albums of 2010". SputnikMusic. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  39. ↑ "New music with Richard Kingsmill". Triple J/ABC. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  40. ↑ "Critics' Picks: Billboard's Top 10 Albums of 2010". Billboard. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  41. ↑ Top 20 Albums Of 2010” Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  42. ↑ Top 75 Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  43. ↑ "Our Top 10 Albums of 2010". Relevant Magazine. 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  44. ↑ "Stereogum’s Top 50 Albums Of 2010". December 8, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  45. ↑ Suddath, Claire (December 9, 2010). "Top 10 Albums: 2. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs". Time. The Top 10 Everything of 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  46. ↑ the Radar’s Top 50 Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  47. ↑ Top 40 Best Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  48. ↑ West, Robyn And More: 20 Best Albums Of 2010” Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  49. ↑ “Rolling Stone's Best Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  50. ↑ 50 Best Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 2, 2010.
  51. ↑ Songwriter’s Top 50 Albums Of 2010 Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  52. ↑ “Drowned in Sound's albums of the year 2010: 50–11” Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  53. ↑ “Pitchfork Staff Lists:The Top 50 Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  54. ↑ “Albums of the Year” Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  55. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "2010: Dean's List". Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  56. ↑ “The Glide 20: Our Top Albums of 2010” Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  57. ↑ “50 Favorites: From Thomas Ades To Buke And Gass” Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  58. ↑ "Nominees And Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved 2011-08-19.
  59. ↑ "Scenes From the Suburbs: Arcade Fire: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  60. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  61. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  62. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  63. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  64. ↑ "Arcade Fire – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Arcade Fire. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  65. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  66. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  67. ↑ "Arcade Fire: The Suburbs" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  68. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  69. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  70. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
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  73. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
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  80. ↑ "Arcade Fire | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  81. ↑ "Arcade Fire – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Arcade Fire. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
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  84. ↑ "Best of 2011 – Top Canadian Albums".
  85. ↑ "Gold Platinum Database". Canadian Recording Industry Association. December 20, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  86. ↑ "Certificeringer" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  87. ↑ "British album certifications – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 15, 2012. Enter The Suburbs in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go.
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