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Neon Bible
[Barclay/Universal]
When an album such as "Funeral" by Arcade Fire becomes "album of the year" for Telerama's or Télé 7 Jours's editorial staff, that may raise doubts as to the interest we may have in that record. Yet, this musical jewel has managed to enchant our ears with its forceful arguments : a dizzy richness, a great dose of madness and irresistible charm. To this we can add : some eighties-like sounds that beautifully blend melancolico-pop and rocky cabaret vibes - often close to the Virgin Prunes's furious and vicious universe ("Love Lasts Forever"), with that obvious discrepancy and and reconstruction constantly on the go -an ingenuousness that comes directly from Joy Division's primitive art, and a classy sound flirting with the Pixies's. Thus the reasons for our craze come naturally. But the serious fears we had when "Neon Bible" was realeased left the Canadian band little chance to pass the so awaited traditional and fearsome "second album test". To this must be added the pressure the band had to experience after selling more than a million copies of their first album - and some thousands to the readers of the two TV magazines mentioned above. Yet, on the very first notes of Black Mirror, the opening track to "Neon Bible", all doubts clear out. The "Mirror, mirror, on the wall" Win Butler repeatedly sings is the perfect and beautiful new echo to Gavin Friday's ballades. Two enraged voices, Win's and Régine Chassagne's, go hand in glove and suit each other to perfection. On every track, their own intimist nonchalance blends with the almost emphatic power that makes the tracks what they really are. With so many "known by heart" elements -but still thrilling- the magic never goes. This force, this solemness makes "Neon Bible" the awaited and natural follow-up to "Funeral" : both albums are complex and stunning. The feeling of those unexpected lyrical ballades close to madness and rage may only exist as a very natural coherence.
Christophe Labussière |
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