Once any noteworthy band "blows up," it seems the U2 comparisons fly rampantly - first it was Coldplay and then it was Kings of Leon. The Arcade Fire are subjected to nothing different. Like the beloved U2 (who are the slightest bit too hyped at times), The Arcade Fire use minimalistic progressions and production tactics to make grand songs. Creativity runs rampant on The Suburbs, surprisingly trumping the grand Neon Bible at times. While "Intervention" isn't necessarily bested, there are songs of nearly/if not the same level on 'The Suburbs'.

The album opens up superbly with the strong "The Suburbs," where frontman Win Butler's vocals are their most clear and present - not to mention his grand falsetto on the refrain ("sometimes I can't believe it/I'm moving past the feeling again"). "The Suburbs" benefits from a fine and haunting production work filled with strings, electric and acoustic guitars, and piano. "Ready to Start," a personal favorite cut, maintains a driving groove and contrasts the mid-tempo groove of "The Suburbs." Again, the superb songwriting lends a catchy refrain ("If I was scared, I would, and If I was bored (broke, pure, etc.), you know I would, If I was yours, I'm not... now I'm ready to start." 'The Suburbs' bats a thousand with "The Suburbs" and "Ready to Start."

"Modern Man" finds the band dabbling in asymmetrical meter and once again a minimal harmonic progression provides the backdrop for Butler's vocals. Not quite as epic as "The Suburbs" or "Ready to Start," its still a fine cut. "Rococo" loses no momentum, while "Empty Room" is an interesting listen, if a bit hard to decipher. Reginé Chassagne, wife of Butler leads the charge vocally but the busy production work overtakes her vocals. This cut would've benefited from being mixed slightly better, but maybe the cacophonous effect was what the band had in mind.

"City With No Children" proves to be much better featuring a notable bass line and a clever groove. On "City With No Children," the religious allusions come full circle as Butler sings "feel like I've been living in, a city with no children in it, a garden left to ruin..." "Half Light I" and "Half Light II (No Celebration)" are two contrasting cuts, both worthy of a couple of spins. On "Half Light I" Reginé Chassagne is the main focus, where her lovely vocals are better produced this go-round. On "Half Light II (No Celebration), " Butler takes the reigns, with Chassagne's vocals harmonizing mid-way through the first verse, mixed in the background.

"Suburban War" stands out, if mainly because of its stylistic changes at given points within the track. "Month of May" finds Arcade Fire channelling "punk rock" to an extent with its driving guitar work and Butler's raw vocals. "Wasted Hours" doesn't necessarily stand out, but it is another solid number. "Deep Blue" and "We Use To Wait" are both Arcade Fire cuts at their best. On "Deep Blue," the guitars take on a "garage" sound and the piano twinkles make this cut reminiscent of a saloon or lounge. "We Use To Wait" makes clever use of a minimalistic piano figure and clever songwriting.
"Sprawl I (Flatland)" turns out to be a languid, dark cut exploiting a vulnerable sounding Win Butler while its sister cut "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" sounds as if it could have been equally at home on MGMT's Congratulations. "Sprawl II" is a worthwhile cut if for no other reason than it contrasts everything else that Arcade Fire has released at this point. Kudos for that. A reprise of "The Suburbs (Continued)" closes the album.

'The Suburbs' is easily one of the top albums of 2010. Here, Arcade Fire deliver an album that is both captivating and different from their previous effort. No wonder the Canadian based band debuted atop the Billboard Album Charts. 4 stars.

If you're already an old Interpol fan you don't have to think twice before buying it. This album is the band at its best, with sultry, melodic songs full of nuances. If you are new to the band, this is a great album to get to know them better.

I really like listening to this album. It's as good as Attack and Release, if not better, and very listenable. I think that it has wide appeal- I could see my dad listening to it and them also playing at a music festival like Austin City Limits. I would say it's chill but it also rocks. I like it a lot. In terms of other groups, I would say the closest music would be The Heavy.
I have and will continue to recommend this album to my friends!

Rich, majestic without bombast, pensive but never heavy, driving/propulsive, orchestral but still all about guitars, drums, bass, and keys... i'm a musician who also engineers, does filmscoring, and more, and i wait for albums like this and very few come along... these days the alt/indie stuff i'm listening to is this, arcade fire's the suburbs, band of horses' infinite arms, the new pornographers' together, the black keys' brothers, shearwater's golden archipelago, deerhunter's microcastle, st. vincent's actor, and a few others... and, this and shearwater's archipelago are the only ones i return to again and again and again... absolutely cannot get enough of this album... it's all here... and it's done without the high end sonic sizzle and shallow/obvious lyrics and music of so much that's out there... the music here is rich and engaging, is never afraid of achieving interesting layers and depth without a lot of silly chord changes, and never goes for "clever"... this album has everything i love and hope for in good, creative, poetic, alt rock... rare and special... genuinely moving...

Never heard of Florence & the machine until i started hearing the song "Dog days are over" on assorted tv shows and commercials. The more i heard , the more i wanted to hear. Finally got the album, and have been listening nonstop ever since. Every song is genious and beautiful in its own way. My personal favs are "Cosmic Love", "drumming Song", and "Rabbit Heart" but they are all wonderful. Very talented artist, and i hope she gets all the recognition she deserves, and keeps making gorgeous music.

This was not the set of recordings I was looking for. I love IZs music but have heard a better album. Love over the rainbow. Would like to know the name of the album I heard.

I remember buying The Rhumb Line, and letting it play in the background while at work. After a few listens that album absolutely grabbed me with its haunting strings, infectious hooks, and Wes Miles' whimsical wailing. Although I got the comparisons to Vampire Weekend, I felt these guys had something to offer artistically in their own right.

Given how much I liked the debut album, I was skeptical that they could duplicate or come close to the effort on their follow-up. After having a couple of days to let The Orchard sink in, all I can say is my doubts have been laid to rest. While stylistically, this album doesn't diverge too much from The Rhumb Line, the production value seems much better. Wes Miles' falsetto is still front and center (although cellist Alexandra Lawn gives her best Stevie Nicks impression on "You and I Know"). and the string section offers a soothing accompaniment. The bass and percussion section seems much more polished too.

The songs:

The Orchard - Haunting track. Love the strings. The "Ghost under Rocks" of this album.

Boy - Infectious! Try not tapping your feet to this song. The bass lines jam!

Too Dramatic - Heard this live. Glad it was added to the album. Sounds like one of the best pop hits from the 80s.

Foolish - Love the tension that the strings provide and the regretfulness in the vocals.

Massachusetts - Not feeling this one as much. Guess I'd have to be from Massachusetts.

You and I Know - Alexandra Lawns surprises with sultry vocals on this bluesy song. Thought I was listening to Stevie Nicks the first time. Love the electric guitar.

Shadowcasting - Light, airy pop rock song. Miles' vocal range is on display in this one. A favorite.

Do You Remember - Love the layering of the vocals and the way this song builds. My favorite so far.

Kansai - Nostalgic. Sounds like something off the Annuals "Such Fun" album.

Keep it Quiet - Sounds weird, but I hear some Smokey Robinson in Miles lyrics. Soulful tune.

Indeed, this album is an improvement on what was already a great debut performance. The Orchard proves that Ra Ra Riot plans on being around for awhile. Our feet and ears should be grateful for that!

This type of music is very 'limited' in that the vocalist is not very prolific in his pure ability and the songs are meant to be simple and catchy. So while none of Phoenix's music should be classified as 'monumental' or 'earth-shattering' in my opinion, neither are any of their contemporaries. That being said, it's even more of a compliment that this 'album' is as good and unforgettable as it is. Their earlier albums had 60-80% really good stuff and this one has like 96.3% =)... They are improving on a very good start to their career and it's very impressive. I usually cannot maintain interest in music like this for very long but all their stuff has caught my interest and continues to keep it. 5 STARS for this excellent album!!!

Bach would be proud. Bring on the Baroque and the the Goth in today's music.

Unlike a lot of new fans, I didn't know Ryan from his work on Crazy Heart. I'm a Facebook fan of a "red dirt" group and several people mentioned Ryan as being so awesome. I logged on to amazon and sampled this CD. I really liked what I heard, so for $5.99, who can go wrong, so I downloaded it.

I've been playing Mescalito every damn day since then. If you want a comparison, he's kind of a Steve Earle in his better days kind of singer-songwriter. (Think of Earle's great trilogy -- El Corazon, I Feel Alright and Transcendental Blues, but with less of a rock edge, and you'll get an idea.)

I give this a hearty five stars and my only regret is that it took this long for me to discover Ryan Bingham! If you're reading this and you're not familiar with him, spend the $5.99 for the download. It's worth every penny!