The most awaited album of the year is by far "The Suburbs" by the recent, grandiose Helsinki visitors, the Arcade Fire.
The group caught the world by surprise with their 2004 album "Funeral" which became one of the definite albums of the last decade. Of course the follow-up had to be a bit of a disappointment, and although "Neon Bible" is definitely far from a bad album, it's nowhere near the previous establishment.
The group played for a crowd of 4000 on a beautiful summer evening at the Senate Square in the midst of the empire Helsinki, surrounded by Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture and in the front of the Helsinki Cathedral just after the Summer Solstice festivities a month ago.
"The Suburbs" feels light, sincere and somehow very natural and is made of a full scale of honest feelings. It's a classy effort adorned with will and spirit in the simplest and the most mundane way the group has yet to present themselves.
The album will be released August 4 and you can now take a load off your feet with Arcade Fire and listen to the "The Suburbs" as a full album stream below.