Songs Of The Year: Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Undoubtedly one of the most critically acclaimed of all releases this year was Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Heralded by many as a masterpiece, we have to admit, we were left feeling a little underwhelmed. Although there are certainly brilliant moments, for us as a whole cohesive record it underperformed both Funeral and Neon Bible. That said, it also contains one of their career highlights – perhaps their best song after Wake Up.
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) is truly magnificent. For us, it combines two of the greatest things in music. Firstly, an emotional Arcade Fire epic sung primarily by Regine Butler. And secondly, a ridiculously massive synth line! Certainly not something you associate with the Montreal group and one that knocked us off our feet the first time we heard it. Cleverly, the electronics still have a fuzzy, analogue feel to them which blends perfectly with the band’s thick, atmospheric sound. The last ‘proper’ song on the album, it also wrapped things up with a glorious crescendo. We must admit, we slightly fear for how great it is, for were it to be the last song of their career it would be a very fitting one indeed.
Another super thing about the song is that it was crying out to be remixed (not an easy feat with most of Arcade Fire’s work). Many people took the track on, but it is Thunderlust’s take that we feel best does it justice. Sensibly, it doesn’t mess with the original formula much. Instead his take simply speeds the song up to DJ-able proportions, layers on some extra bass and a few more twinkly electronics, keeping the heart and soul of the song fully in tact.
Here’s hoping that electronic epics might be where Arcade Fire are heading for album four….
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Thuderlust Remix)
