Opener and title track of Arcade Fire's third album 'The Suburbs' is a song which sets the tone for the entire album in a way that so many concept album openers fail to. On an album which explores much more multidimensional and complex emotions and ideas than the band's previous releases, 'The Suburbs' introduces the concept of the album - the ecstatic highs and crippling lows of growing up in the suburbs - with glorious grandeur. Displaying a new level of maturity and drawing from true experiences of youth as opposed to the all-too-common pretense of growing up a wayfaring stranger, 'The Suburbs' is backed by a simple but effective piano arrangement and serves as the perfect aesthetic introduction to the understated, "suburban" Arcade Fire we meet on this album.
9. Afterlife (from Reflektor, 2013)
'Afterlife' was the song that the world was waiting for with baited breath on Arcade Fire's most recent effort 'Reflektor'. While at some points on the album, dance-punk pioneer James Murphy's production influence is almost a little too prominent, 'Afterlife' manages to find the perfect balance between this new disco-inspired feel and Arcade Fire's signature sound. It's the song that best emphasises that on 'Reflektor', the band are taking a completely new musical direction, but without forgetting where they came from. An almost glam-rock love song about the struggles of keeping their marriage together, Win and Régine's voice echo together in flawless harmony over the persistent, bouncy keyboards, and 'Afterlife' is easily one of, if not the best song on 'Reflektor'.