There might not appear to be much common ground shared by a seven-piece art rock band from predominately French-speaking Montreal and a folk-country influenced wunderkind from the American Bible Belt.
But when it comes to comparisons between Canada’s Arcade Fire and Omaha, Neb.’s Bright Eyes, there are many more similarities than might be immediately apparent. For starters, both are arguably the most critically acclaimed young artists to emerge out of the alternative rock scene in the new millennium. Secondly, both have chosen to release their CDs on independent labels rather than sign with deep-pocketed major record companies that offer immediate cash rewards, but much less long-term artistic and financial freedom.
The Arcade Fire self-financed the making of both of its CDs, which means it has sole ownership of its recordings and total artistic control. When the group inked a deal with the North Carolina-based label Merge Records, it was more of a licensing-distribution deal than a recording contract.
Conor Oberst, the creative beacon that essentially is Bright Eyes, is the primary exponent of the hip indie label Saddle Creek Records. He too enjoys the type of artistic freedom that escapes most major label artists. For example, two distinctly different Bright Eyes CDs were released in 2005, an almost unheard of occurrence in an era when major label artists are forced by their market-conscious bosses to wait two or three years between albums.
On a business level, the Arcade Fire and Bright Eyes represent an encouraging new model: recording artists that sell hundreds of thousands of CDs without the help of corporate record companies.
Creatively speaking, the two artists are on similar paths as well. Both the Arcade Fire’s new “Neon Bible” album and Bright Eyes’ recently released “Cassadaga” CD are rich in elaborate orchestration and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion. Yet the two works are also distinct in that “Neon Bible” has a darker, more Gothic orientation, while “Cassadaga” is steeped in a classic American singer-songwriter tradition and is accented by traditional country instrumentation.
There’s a dark hue to new Arcade Fire tracks like “Black Mirror.” This comes partly from vocalist Win Butler’s insistent, somewhat disaffected vocals. It also derives from the band’s intricate and sometimes layered instrumental focus. Piano, strings, heavy percussion, choir-like backing vocals and some non-traditional instruments (at least for rock) like the hurdy-gurdy and the accordion combine at times to create music that is both anthemic and delicately moving.
Bright Eyes may be a solo vehicle for Oberst, but that doesn’t stop him from enlisting help from a bevy of support musicians. A few are regular members of the Bright Eyes lineup like multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis. But many are guest artists like vocalist Rachel Yamagata, former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss and bluegrass artist Gillian Welch.
What results is a highly orchestrated album full of swirling strings, chirping woodwinds, steel guitar embellishments, full-bodied vocal harmonies and plenty of rhythmic support from a small army of percussion players. Unlike the more noir-ish shadings that define Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible,” “Cassadaga” has a much lighter touch and is infused with a rootsy country sensibility that has much more to do with Hank Williams cool than Rascal Flats corporate.
Ultimately, it’s Oberst’s talent as a songwriter that defines this CD the best. He goes soft and reflective with the ballad “Lime Tree,” frisky and jaunty with “Four Winds” and straight to the local saloon with the rollicking drinking song “Soul Singer In a Session Band.” All the while he sings in a passionate, self-revealing and sometimes fragile tone that exists somewhere between Robert Smith’s boyish vocals and Jackson Browne’s poignant meditations.
For those looking to advance beyond the Warped Tour universe into the adult alternative world represented by Coachella, these two albums are a good place to start.
