The Arcade Fire have been compared to lots of different artists by lots of different people, but I'm pretty sure that Blondie was never one of them. Despite its ten members, Arcade Fire can often come off as the Win Butler show, as his distinct, defiant whine graces most of their tracks. However, "The Sprawl Pt. 2 (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" sees his fiancé Régine Chassagne take center stage, emoting over "Heart of Glass" synths. "The Sprawl" is likely the most "pop" song that Arcade Fire have ever recorded, trading in the churning guitars and dramatic organ that populate Funeral and Neon Bible for the synthesizer and drum sounds from Duran Duran's Rio, and combining them beautifully with their chamber pop aesthetic.
"The Sprawl" represents a welcome change in direction for the band, as there are only so many neo-Springsteen, adolescent anthems about missing your parents that a band can write before repeating themselves. I haven't heard much from The Suburbs (out Tuesday, August 3), but I can't imagine that the rest of the album will wholeheartedly embrace electronics like "The Sprawl," or like fellow Indie Rock titans the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did with Show Your Bones. What I have heard from the rest of the album, so far, is a more logical progression, and would be far more familiar to Arcade Fire fans. However, "The Sprawl" is Arcade Fire at their best: anthemic, moving and beautiful, and it shows that the band is willing to work outside of its comfort zone and write a fantastic pop song.
Also: The Knife. It had to be said.
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