Neon Bible

Today's Music That Jason Likes But Can't Quite Decide How He Feels About is Neon Bible, from the Arcade Fire. This is the group's second album, released earlier this year.

It's difficult to talk about Neon Bible without mentioning it in terms of Funeral. Whereas Funeral is a very intensely personal album, about life changing and loss, Neon Bible is a much broader album and more political. It took me a few listens to really get into it; the album didn't grab me right away. The songs are more layered and complicated, still very emotional and, dare I say, beautiful. It probably is more accessible than Funeral, even if it doesn't have quite the impact; this is a fine album and doesn't represent a radical departure from the Arcade Fire style. One criticism, though, is that Win Butler (the primary songwriter) does almost all the lead vocals on this album. On Funeral, Regine Chassagne (sp) had a number of vocal duties, but she is almost completely absent here, sadly. Still, I would recommend this album to almost anyone. Lots of good songs here, in particular "Intervention" and "Ocean of Noise". "Antichrist Television Blues" is another very good track, and probably has the best title of any song I can think of released in the past year.

So I guess I really can decide how I feel about this album. It is a letdown, but only in comparison to its amazing predecessor. Compared to almost anything else, it shines.

In other news:
I bought a car, a pretty nice one. I can't wait to drive it around a little bit.

I also sprained my foot today. It's painful, but nothing that will keep me from my regular routine.