Arcade Fire released a deluxe edition CD/DVD ofThe Suburbs on June 27, 2011 (everywhere except the U.S. and Canada). The American and Canadian versions were released on August 2, 2011, to coincide with the original album's anniversary. The new version included two brand new tracks recorded duringThe Suburbs album sessions ("Culture War" and "Speaking in Tongues", the latter featuringDavid Byrne), an extended version of album track "Wasted Hours",Spike Jonze's short film,Scenes from the Suburbs, and an 80-page booklet as well as other exclusive content.
The album's lyrical content is inspired by band membersWin andWilliam Butler's upbringing inThe Woodlands, Texas, a suburb ofHouston.[8] According to Win Butler, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it's a letterfrom the suburbs".[9] The album was recorded in Win Butler andRégine Chassagne's residence inMontreal, with some parts being recorded at the band's studio inQuebec and in New York City.[4] Win Butler describes the overall sound ofThe Suburbs as "a mix ofDepeche Mode andNeil Young",[10] stating that he wanted the album to sound like "the bands that I heard when I was very young, and wondered what those crazy noises were".[11] It was released byMerge Records in North America and byMercury Records in the United Kingdom.
The band pressed each completed song to a 12″lacquer, then recorded it back for thedigital master of the album.[citation needed] There are eight alternative covers for the CD version of the album.[12]
A video for "Ready to Start" was released on August 20, 2010, directed by Charlie Lightning and filmed at the band's July 7, 2010 concert at theHackney Empire in London.[13] On August 30, 2010, an interactive video was released for "We Used to Wait" athttp://www.thewildernessdowntown.com, written and directed byChris Milk, designed in conjunction withGoogle Chrome, which makes use ofGoogle Maps andGoogle Street View, and has been featured inTime's "Short List".[14]
Another music video, for the title track "The Suburbs", was released on November 18, 2010, directed bySpike Jonze. The video, filmed inAustin, Texas, follows a group of teenagers living in the suburbs, and features cameos by Win Butler and Sarah Neufeld as police officers. The music video is composed of excerpts from Jonze's short film,Scenes from the Suburbs, which debuted at theBerlin International Film Festival2011, and has a running time of 30 minutes.[15]Scenes from the Suburbs screened at theSXSW Film Festival 2011 and saw its online premiere onMUBI on June 27, 2011.[16] Writing for the Canadian Press, Nick Patch called the film "a sci-fi puzzler that seems to blend the paranoia ofTerry Gilliam films with the nostalgia of classicSteven Spielberg flicks".[17]
The Suburbs received acclaim frommusic critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has anaverage score of 87 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim" based on 43 reviews.[19] Writing forBBC Music, Mike Diver described the album as the band's "most thrillingly engrossing chapter yet; a complex, captivating work that, several cycles down the line, retains the magic and mystery of that first tentative encounter" and stated that "you could call it theirOK Computer."[30] Several reviewers comparedThe Suburbs favourably to Arcade Fire's earlier work. Ian Cohen ofPitchfork called it "a satisfying return to form—proof that Arcade Fire can still make grand statements without sounding like they're carrying the weight of the world".[27] Noel Murray ofThe A.V. Club described the album as being "like one long sequel" to the band's earlier single "No Cars Go".[21]Q wrote that the band "may well have delivered their masterpiece."[31]
David Marchese, writing inSpin, wrote of the album: "Radiant with apocalyptic tension and grasping to sustain real bonds, [it] extends hungrily outward, recalling the dystopic miasma ofWilliam Gibson's sci-fi novels andSonic Youth's guitar odysseys. Desperate to elude its own corrosive dread, it keeps moving, asking, looking, and making the promise that hope isn't just another spiritual cul-de-sac."[29]NME's reviewer Emily Mackay comparedThe Suburbs toR.E.M.'sAutomatic for the People in the sense of it being "an album that combines mass accessibility with much greater ambition. Pretty much perfect, in other words – and despite their best efforts, listening to it feels just like coming home."[26]Uncut designated the album as their "Album of the Month"; in a 4-star review for the magazine, Alastair McKay called it "a surprising record, swapping the spit and fire ofFuneral for a sense of mature playfulness", and concluding that "[it] explores the badlands between safety and boredom. It's nostalgic, with a sense of future dread. There is pain and pleasure, loss and hope. It feels like the anesthetic is wearing off."[32]
Exclaim! listed the album as their No. 1 Pop & Rock Album of 2010.[33] Writer Andrea Warner summarized it as "a perfect actualization of the suburbs as metaphor for the classic North American dream: a smoothly perfect veneer covering up the lush complexity of motivation. It's not just metaphor, but goes a step further to exemplify the quintessential Arcade Fire sound ― a controlled frenzy, pushing and reaching for something more."
On June 16, 2011, the album was named as a long-listed nominee for the2011 Polaris Music Prize.[34] On July 6,The Suburbs was awarded a spot on the shortlist, making it one of ten possible candidates to win $30,000 and the recognition as the best Canadian album of the year as voted by jury of Canadian journalists and broadcasters.[35] On September 19, 2011, it won the Polaris Music Prize.[36]
All tracks are written by Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry, Jeremy Gara, Win Butler, Will Butler, Régine Chassagne and Tim Kingsbury.[citation needed]All lead vocals by Win Butler unless otherwise noted.
"Suburban War" is the second to last track on the vinyl version of the album.
"We Used to Wait" finishes on an infinite loop at the end of Side 3 of the vinyl version.
In the Deluxe Edition, "Wasted Hours" is retitled as "Wasted Hours (A Life That We Can Live)" and features an extended ending. The track length goes to 4:26.
Initial copies of the album sold by selected independent music stores came with an exclusive 7" single of "Ready to Start" with a postcard.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^ab“Hear Two New Arcade Fire Songs and an Interview”Archived January 24, 2012, at theWayback Machine. NPR's All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talked to Arcade Fire's Win and Will Butler about the record, while also offering a special preview of the songs “Month of May” and “The Suburbs.” Retrieved May 27, 2010.
^Lev Grossman; Paul Moakley; James Poniewozik; Steven James Snyder; Richard Corliss (September 13, 2010). "Short List: Time's Picks for the week".Time Magazine. p. 67.4 [MUSIC VIDEO] www.thewildernessdowntown.com
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