Album Review(s): Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, Scott Pilgrim OMST

Rather than the usual one album review, I think I'm going to try and change it up a little bit. I've listened to quite a bit of new music recently, so I'll go over each of them in about a paragraph or two.

Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News

Rating: Mellow/Good Natured - 3.5/4.0
So this was Modest Mouse breakthrough album, big singles being "Float On" and"Ocean Breathes Salty". It's relatively mellow as many indie rock albums seem to be, but we have tracks that have a faster tempo, staying true to the alternative rock genre it has also be classified under. The album is solid, there aren't any weird throwaway tracks that throw off the pace or flow of the music. It's good, although it doesn't grab me as a "must listen to all the time" album. Tracks to listen for are Float On, The Devil's Workshop, The View and One Chance. Special mention to Satin in a Coffin.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Rating - Moody/Dramatic-4.0
The follow up album to their first album "Funeral" that happens to be a big favorite of mine. Many people have said that this album surpasses their previous success, I feel it is about the same (although I like Funeral better personally). Four singles on this album, "Black Mirror", "Keep the Car Running", "Intervention" and "No Cars Go", all of which are good tracks. There seems to be strong religious overtones and the questioning of free will in this album, a lot of brooding dramatics that make some tracks like "Neon Bible" a tad too mellow for my usual tastes. However, almost ever song has a good ending that picks it up right before it ends. This sense of religious commentary is reinforced by tracks like "Intervention" with the church organ in the background. Regardless, a good album. Tracks to listen for are the singles mentioned above, "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations" with special mention of "The Well And The Lighthouse"

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Rating - Varied - 3.0/3.5
This one is filled with a cavalcade of nice sounds, music provided by Beck (doing the music for Scott's band Sex Bob-Omb), Metric (For Clash at Demonhead), Broken Social Scene (For Crash and the Boys), etc. Since this a soundtrack I don't there there is much a flow to it unless you see the movie, each song pretty much played during a specific scene that makes you go "Oh yeah, this played when X happened." But what was cool about this album was how it brought the music played by the band in the comic, "Sex Bob-Omb" to life. As with all soundtracks, all the songs have their place in the movie. However, when listening to the whole track rather than just a 30 second cut of it, you begin to wonder why on earth it's there in the first place (I'm looking at you T.Rex). Tracks to look out for are "Scott Pilgrim", "Threshold", and "Ramona". Special mention to "Boring By the Sea", "Sleazy Bed Track" and "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl".

Now, I have listened to more music than this, but I figure 3 is a good number to stop at. Triforce logic has never steered me wrong. Unless there is a story behind an album, I think I'll just do a condensed review like this. If you, the reader, have an album you think I would enjoy then feel free to make a suggestion.