When I first heard this album, I was completely and utterly blown away. (Yes, I know that's a clichéd expression, but it's warranted here.) I went out and told everyone I know that The Arcade Fire are the saviors of rock 'n' roll. I loved their first album, too, and their 9:30 Club show in January 2005 is a major highlight of my concert-going history. I consider "Neon Bible" to be a brilliant and worthy follow-up to "Funeral," deftly exhibiting growth and maturity in songwriting. But (and you knew a but was coming, right?) I'm actually finding my love for this album waning with repeated listens, instead of deepening. Maybe I've just listened to it too much at this point, and I need to give it a break. (I've been listening to it several times a week in my car since its release.) "Intervention" still impresses the pants off of me, but some of the other songs have been losing my interest lately. In any case "Neon Bible" definitely does not suck, but I'm now of the opinion that it is not as good as "Funeral." But why does it have to be? In any case, I haven't heard an album so far this year that comes close to matching it.
