The Suburbs

I actually think I underrated this album initially given my high expectations after their first two albums that I liked so much. Pretty good upon revisiting, actually. Standouts: The Suburbs, Ready to Start, Modern Man, Sprawl II

This is an excellent album. The different sounds keep it from being stale, but it still feels connected as a whole. Pretty good

Okey....

I thought that this album would be boring, but I was pleasantly surprised. It wouldn't shock me if this greatly influenced the modern indie rock scene. There's even a shoegazey section on this album.

Loved this one when it came out. Not as big on it now, but Sprawl II still rules.

I really like this album. Nice arrangements and performances that are “indie pop” sounding in the positive sense of the term. When they add the strings and extra voices, it creates layers and a depth that are quite compelling. Solid, solid album by a great band. I missed them completely when they were churning out these records but I’m glad this project brought them to my attention.

Bello. Por algún motivo si me hizo muy largo de escuchar

My favorite Arcade Fire album. Oddly, I think that Arcade Fire is an acquired taste. I clearly remember not caring for them when I first heard them but I cannot remotely find that feeling anymore. Now, this is damn good. Favorite songs: The Suburbs and We Used to Wait

Love it. I really underestimated this band in the beginning.

I prefer the first two records, but We Used to Wait and Suburban War are fabulous.

Si 'Funeral' i 'Neon Bible' van sorprendre i els van posar en boca de tothom, amb 'The Suburbs' es van reivindicar com una de les millors bandes de rock alternatiu del nou mil.leni. Un disc doble, en el sentit clàssic del terme, ple de grans cançons, melodies intel.ligents, lletres colpidores i una execució immillorable de tot plegat. Va ser el seu cènit creatiu com a banda (a setembre de 2022 com a mínim)

Their passion and commitment are clear and convincing. The playing and arrangements are generally effective and intermittently compelling. The hooks are decent and there are some immersive atmospheres. Varied textures and tempos add to the ride as well. Certainly, the drama builds but one questions whether it builds to any crescendo worth reaching – that is, someplace one would find relatable or sufficiently resonant to merit the effort of the journey. Lyrics remain mostly pedestrian, though with quite a few less howlers than on Funeral, which had many of the same strengths (and weaknesses). Much preferring the National, one just can’t go all the way with AF. It feels like an objective 4, but in terms of personal engagement a 3.

The list keeps getting better and better.

win butler hijo de putaaa album guay tho

It has 3 really good songs

I remember buying this album of the back of We Used to Wait which is a quality tune. The album is pretty decent as well, taking a journey through suburbia and the 'thrills' of city life. I listened to it loads at the time and it's still worth a spin now and then, but can't quite warrant the full five stars as it loses a bit of energy towards the end.

een heel pak beter dan gevreesd eigenlijk. Dat laatste lied kan ik me nog 'ns luisteren

Indie rock, 2010. One of the best inde records of the 21st Century and one of the peaks of this band. The album is really solid from the start until the end and the tracklist is just perfect with also a great mood mostly quiet and calm. Both voices during the project fit really well the vibe of the LP, the lyrics are pretty clever and the music is always interesting.

4/5 Reminds me of the Killers sound. Nice mix of clean guitar and complex synth sounds. Modern Man has interesting 4/4 + 5/4 switch up throughout.

noice lo

Feels slightly dated now but still a great album

I’m a weird Arcade Fire fan. I know and love the basic hits, and my favorite album is Reflektor. It’s time to finally listen to the Suburbs while living in one. The eponymous opener is a catchy yet slightly haunting tune about the tension between kids and their parents as well as the tension between a bubble-like suburban neighborhood and the real world. I listened to this record as I cleaned the house, so I didn’t do an extremely close listen. I did, however, hear many songs I enjoyed and I recognize that I should definitely listen again! The mix of Depeche Mode and Neil Young, as Win Butler himself characterizes this record, accomplishes this wistful atmosphere (again reflecting the experiences within the suburb). Humble melodies and evolving arrangements make for something that is pleasing easy listening as well as something to be musically and literarily analyzed. I’m going to give this album a four — I like it very much but it doesn’t have the effect that some of the other 5’s have! Excited to listen again!

deras musik är verkligen så bra?

Decent

Wonderful and unique. Terrific band. Good albums.

Something I would have listened to often when I was in high school.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Very nice melodies, though I didn't pay close attention to the lyrics as much. Some of these songs really stick in your head for a while, and I'm here for it. Anyway, I'll come back again.

I have listened to this one many times. Good album.

Something about this album makes me so happy. I loved it the moment I first heard it, and every re-listening experience delights me. Everything feels right about this recording--every groove, every moment of passion, from "Modern Man" to the illimitable and unassailable "Sprawl II". Is the album over-dramatic? Yes, of course, in spots, but for me that's part of its charm. Searching for a place in the modern world, a world dominated by the lifelessness, the creative barrenness, of the suburbs. It's weird... this is kind of a coming-of-age album, but only kinda, as if it's being sung in retrospective, for the point of view is very much an adult one considering the futility of continued human generation. Ambition has rarely been more captivating than the magic caught on this album.

Celkem 🔥. 7,5/10

One of my fav albums from high school. I think it can be bloated at times, but some tracks are timeless. Ready to start, half life II, wasted hours, we used to wait, and sprawl II are the favorites. Usually come back to it at least once a year.

I've been unfair to Arcade Fire. Based on this album, they are not what I thought they were. They are outside of my wheelhouse these days, but in my other life, when I was listening to Morrissey, The Smiths, Beautiful South, etc this would've been one of my favorite albums.

This record continues to grow on me all these years later.

Indie rock que no está mal. Venga, un 4.

I like this album very much. I have been listening it for years. I was the way a learned to appreciate the Arkade Fire's work. For moments, I find it disturbing. But always I find it melancholic, with a touch of sadness.

Standout track: "Month of May"

Chulo, no me lo esperaba asi

In suburbs, in the bushes by a children's boating lake in a park I once saw SHACK clad only in a grimace and his mother's fishnet tights furiously reciting Othello in a menacing mumble. He's an actor now darling. I am reminded of this stark image when listening to this album and I think it speaks more to the music's essence than I ever could.

Great band. Not sure why this album made the list and not one of their previous two but whatever. Still enjoyed it.

Super nice album. I wish I had gotten into this thing when it was released but somehow it passed me by. Really quality songwriting throughout and very relatable lyrics about find your identity in a world that can quickly push people into a box growing up. 8/10

The Arcade Fire: growing up in the suburbs can be alienating at times. Aging Gen-Xers as they start to make up the majority of the Grammy voting body: holy shit yes

Rococo and We Used To Wait are the high points of a brilliant album. Definite vinyl purchase down the line.

🔥

Minneapolis Nostalgia (the current!). Sprawl II major highlight

Cool album

High school nostalgia. Love wasted hours

i can sort of remember listening to "Funeral" about a year ago. the style and sound of this album feels quite similar but i can tell "Funeral" is my favorite between the two. both albums are quite good, but Arcade Fire just doesn't get better than "Funeral". this album is still fantastic though

Probably their best album

03/22/2022 Such a great album. Soooo close to a 5-star rating.

Enfin un album écoutable! J'aime bien les arrangements de cordes de Owen Palet Les tones de drums et guits sont cool J'aime bien le beat croche de modern man Rococo me tombait sur les nerfs avant mais it grew on me et maintenant je l'aime bien Bonnes chansons bien construite, bien arrangée, progressions d'accords surprenantes. J'écoute quand même souvent cet album si on pouvait mettre des demi étoile j'aurais mis 4.5

J’ai une préférence pour Funeral, mais la progression Funeral, Néon Bible et Suburbs (et même Reflektor) est parfaite. Pièce préférée: Rococo

This and a few other albums started the multi-instrument folk rock band revolution. Good stuff.

Most of my listening experience swung between "hey, not bad" and "actually this is pretty good". Then Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) came on and completely blew me away. An absolutely phenomenal piece of music which really elevates the album as a whole.

Saved Prior: The Suburbs, Ready to Start, Rococo, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Off Rip: Half Life II (No Celebration), Sprawl I (Flatland) Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Takes the vibes of Funeral and the cohesion of Neon Bible to make what might be the best 'album' of the three, I just wish it was 15 or so minutes shorter

Indie rock que no está mal. Venga, un 4.

Good

solid album

Grew on me through multiple listens. Some lovely tracks in there.

This is definitely an improvement on the debut which was on the list not very long ago. I wondered why I would get multiple albums from them but this seems like a breakthrough of sorts, certainly unique, at times catchy, with a lot of talent.

gostei sim :)

good, unexpected gem of an album.

When Funeral came out it was a revelation for me. A band from my home town the darlings of Indie rock. And man was that album good! Up there with The Aeroplane Over The Sea and suddenly Montreal was the epicenter of Indie rock, mentioned in the same breath as Austin and Atgens and dare I say...Seattle. fast forward a few years and The Suburbs cones and say what...a Grammy award? Really? But is The Suburbs as good as Funeral? No, but it's fucking close. The titles track that opens up the album is everything good about Arcade Fire ... soaring melodies, toe tapping beat and beautiful, personal, poignant lyrics. There's really very little let up throughout the album. Modern Man, Rococo, Half Light, Speaking in Tongues all fantastic songs. 4.5 🌟

Listened to on 2/7/22 4.5/5 Favorite songs: The Suburbs and Wasted Time We finally got something that wasn’t from the 60s and wow was it so much better. This album was so good and accurately depicts what growing up in the suburbs is like. I would highly recommend and enjoyed listening to it!

A really solid album overall that feels weirdly nostalgic. A few favorites were Sprawl II, City with No Children, and Half Light II. Would listen again.

2/7/22 I liked most songs. I think this is an album that would really grow on me if I kept listening to it! I appreciate the indie vibes. The album gets better with each song. The few I didn’t really care for was mainly because their rhyme structure Favorite song: Sprawl 2

More of a rock leaning to this album than their usual orchestral swells; though these are still there - like walking into a cathedral in a pair of crocs. I lived in the suburbs. It didn't sound anything like this. Best Tracks: The Suburbs; Ready To Start; Modern Man

Killer Start, wird mittendrin etwas schwächer, daher nur eine 4.

while Ready to start is my favorite arcade fire song, I can't give this a 5 if I gave Funeral one. It is a really good album though.

Have always liked these guys’ works, and this is no exception. Not quite as on fire as some of their others, but enough heat to barbecue a turd fisher’s catch

JANUARY 19TH "kids wanna be so hard but in my dreams we're stil screamin' and runnin' through the yard and all of the walls that they built in the 70s finally fall and all of the houses they build in the 70s finally fall meant nothing at all." track 1 gave me the feeling this album would be very "I'd come back if I was bored." and track 2 confirmed it. "I wish that I could have loved you then before our age was through." "our heads are just houses without enough windows they say you hear human voices but they only echo." "month of may, it's a violent thing." for sure. it's taurus/gemini season. "you started a war that we can't win." is prob my favourite lyric. I have the feeling I'm gonna come back to this album every time I have a life crisis and reminisce about the old days. it gives me the smiths and the killers vibes. 8,5/10

Some great tracks, could have been a shorter 5 star album though.

REALLY enjoyed listening to this. I love Arcade Fire and this album makes a real statement IMO. They make some crazy sounds, keep it interesting and exciting throughout Sprawl II towards the end is a great vibe for example. I felt a big mixture of things from this album and I liked it. Perfect length too.

I absolutely loved listening to this, not even a particularly huge fan of arcade fire but this brought be so much joy

A grand, layered, and spiraling next step in the band's sound. It is epic for sure, and an excellent album, but it does make me miss a bit of the fire and homegrown feel I heard in their debut.

Great stuff

Decent indie rock album with varied styles and influences.

Indie

Arcade Fire are not afraid to try new things with their sound and I love them for that, but it's not always what I want from them. The suburbs really just expanded and matured their vibe from The Funeral (which is an album I will always hold special to me). The Suburbs really blew them into the stratosphere and allowed them to grow into the indie powerhouse they were becoming, but they'll always be the goofs rollicking around in football helmets in the small 2-300 cap club I first saw them in...

I really enjoyed this so I think it ought to get a 4*

A great album that truly acts as a single work, rather than a bunch of singles.

Nikad nisam slušala arcade fire ali ovaj album je probudio moj interes

Arkadna vatra. Odličan album, ujedno su se s tim albumom pomirili da više neće raditi općenito kvalitetne albume ko što su do tad.

<3

I already know and love this album too, but hey, we're gonna listen to it again. Wasn't this the album that Arcade Fire won over some pop stars and people were up in arms? "Who is this Arcade Fire and how did they beat my waifu????"

Superb.

it was very good I like it a lot. I was very impressed. it was just a little bit long so I got a little bored.

для вайбика супер

There are a few good tracks on it, but no more than half. Three stars…

I love a few songs on this but not the rest

This is a pretty good album that sounds pretty good when you're listening to it, and then kind of ceases to exist as soon as you aren't. Like, it's hard to point to any single track in retrospect that was a "wow" moment, but it all sounded fine. Weird.

Millennial music, or as I call it “Tom’s Music,” hits a very nostalgic feeling for me. It reminds me of the youth ski retreats we did at my church. All the youth leaders being the archetypical Millennial. This music blaring in their beat up Honda Accord. This is like my grandparents reminiscing about eating at some diner while Buddy Holly plays on the radio.

great company while unpacking a headphones musical is that a beach boys interpolation i hear

I don't usually mind this kind of pop rock, and some of songs were fairly catchy, but there were also many that didn't stand out. The vibe reminds me of Bombay Bicycle Club, a band I like, but I think their stuff is much more interesting than arcade fire. The album drags on too long, despite several uninteresting songs. I did appreciate how some of them flowed into each other though. I can always appreciate a smooth transition because it shows some intent of continuity throughout the album. The falsetto chorus on the title track is probably the highlight of the whole album (that song is probably the only reason the album is on this list). The 9/4? 9/8? In Modern Man is cool. I like the groove on wasted hours. I liked the narrative format of Sprawl I, and sprawl II is one of the more catchy tracks. There were enough things that I liked that I guess I'm willing to give it a light 3.

I'm struggling to think of what to say about this. Gonna give it 3 stars. When they first came on the scene (heard by me on WXRT, as I recall), they seemed somewhat interesting/promising. But never enough to buy any of their CDs, or become a fan. Definitely better than a lot of stuff out there, but, equally so, missing something, for me, to make them memorable, or special, or worth coming back to. If anything, I would say that I like them a bit less now than back then. Another band, maybe (like Coldplay?) that strives for the epic, but -- for me, anyway -- falls a bit flat (I'm tempted to add that going for the epic is generally a questionable/bad idea for musicians, unless, I don't know, you're at the level of The Beatles, or maybe ELO). The songs I'm most familiar with, from the radio, and probably the best 2 songs, are the 1st 2 songs on the album; everything after that seemed pretty forgettable, and didn't inspire me to want to listen to it for a 2nd time. So, yeah, I'd say (a rather low) 3 stars.

while not very interesting, musically, this album does evoke nostalgia for me, at times. I appreciate that there's a concept to the album. I don't think enough artists have addressed the ennui of the suburbs properly, and Arcade Fire do it well here. The middle of the album, a majority of its runtime, is quite forgettable. The title track and Sprawl II are the only standouts. And that's my main criticism; the music is not very memorable or interesting. But the message is, moreso, and there's potential for emotional impact.

This was a decent album. The first track is the strongest one though.

Eh. This flavor of alt rock just isn’t for me.

Nostalgic

This album marks the angsty end of the early 2000s flirtation with moody indie rock. A couple of good songs in isolation (the shared vocals on Empty Room were especially good) but on the whole too long and too average. Don't get the hype for AF. 3⭐️

I always really appreciate when there is a male and female singer in a band, so that was a plus. Otherwise, this isn't my cup of tea. I recognize the talent and there are good songs for sure. The musicianship is serviceable and they are good for their genre.

Glad I was exposed to. Hadn't heard of them. But I liked half of the teacks

I think I used to enjoy this more than I do now. There are good tracks on it and it is coherent as an album but it goes on a bit long and is a bit one pace.

Nothing offensive but very leaden and dare I say boring at times. Each song seems to have a similar songwriting style to it and doesn’t do very much to break any moulds at any point. No numbers that jump out at me like at least Neon Bible had with ‘no cars go’. Easily forgettable and just do not see why others may rate it so highly. This is a generous 3.

A very interesting album. Much more interesting than I anticipated it would be.

Good album I see the potential and why it’s here. Would give it 3.5/5

Not bad. I need another couple of listens. Great lyrics.

Thought I liked it at first but as it trailed on I found myself profoundly uninterested. That being said, it's not bad Rating: 5.2/10

Честная тоска по пустому. Альбом попал в нарастающее апатичное безразличное настроение прекрасного дня. Музыка пусть и выпущена в 2010, звучание всё-таки отсылает нас в 90-е года. Простой выдержанный альбом, но он мне показался очень честным. Ни на одной песне невозможно заострить свое внимания, но в целом прослушивание дополняет и поддерживает мрачное, серое настроение. Оно не вгоняет окончательно в бездну но и не вытаскивает. Идеальный баланс, который достичь очень сложно, потому достигается он явно не специально. Этот альбом в начале показался мне чертовски скучным, кстати не просто так до песни empty room находится то чего не должно быть в этом альбоме. Моя оценка 6/10.

I remember being quite disappointed with this at the time, and listening to it again, I still am. It's good, it's just the songs don't seem as good as the first two albums...

First Aracde Fire listening experience and it was pretty enjoyable. I know I've said before that this style of music is hit or miss with me and while it didn't fully hit for me I do have to give the album credit that despite its length it didn't feel like it dragged too much (as some other hour long plus albums I've encountered have). There were times where I did find that the music did sort of disappear into the background and before I knew it I was halfway through a different track than the one I was listening to before. 3/5

Early Fire. Ok as long as you know their stuff

Veldig fint album, hadde 1 sang på lista fra før av. Får meg til å revurdere hvor mange stjerner jeg gir for album, har kanskje overvurdert tidligere album sammenlignet med denne.

si si cool

It’s kind of epic and wide. An expansive listen but one that hasn’t hugely left any songs with me. I have held onto some of the feeling. Not any of the specifics.

Another indie rock album. It was alright, not sure if it needed to be in the top 1001 albums though.

Plezierige indiepop, daar niet van. Af en toe een blikje violen en ijl geluid, dan weer raggen, dan weer wat synthpop met een dame erbij. Punt is, het is allemaal wel leuk gedaan, maar niks valt op. Zo'n album dat je vooral herluistert omdat je je afvraagt: hm ja, wat heb ik nu eigenlijk gehoord? Jongens, probeer nou af en toe eens een meesterwerk te maken of in ieder geval íéts interssants te doen in plaats van dat vrijblijvende gedoe.

OK.

An up and down album for me; I enjoyed some songs and disliked others. This was my first listen through of any Arcade Fire album, although I think I recognized some of these songs from hearing them in passing during my time at IU. While indie bands are a blind spot for me (I usually don't enjoy them), this was better than I thought it would be, but wasn't spectacular. The music was VERY 2010, there was a lot of stuff around at that time that sounded similar in my ears. An album that had its moments but didn't move the needle past "OK" for me; it was solid garage rock. 3/5

Solid album, fun to listen to. Three stars

Too long, lots of the middle could have been cut. Each song overstayed its welcome a bit. But the highs are really fun.

Prefer the first 2 albums - bookends of this album are superb but the middle drifts too much for an album over an hour long

First two 👌 Rest just fillers

Solid

Big fan of the titular song. Rest of the album felt quite samey samey but I still enjoyed.

Feels like a worse version of MGMT. still, I enjoyed it.

whatever man

Hopefully the last Arcade Fire I'll listen to. There are a couple of decent songs but overall I'm not a fan of this band at all. Calling people 'kids' who are only slightly younger than you always weirds me out.

I dunno. This was fine. I'd call it a mid 3. I'll definitely never listen to it again, and it probably turned me off to Arcade Fire forever. Falsetto? Strings? Suburban fucking nostalgia. Nope. But there's also some passable song writing and catchy little bits here and there. This was, perhaps, the perfect album to follow the Doors. Mid, mid, mid.

3.2 2x

Meh - same sort of emo music, heard it before

Not as good as Funeral, but I remember when this came out feeling that it was a bit of a missed opportunity.

Another band that I had heard of without actually hearing. Now that I have heard them, I have to say I'm pretty impressed, it's very much indie music scene through the lens of maximalism with heavily orchestrated music that definitely achieves a somewhat impressive anthemic quality, especially on the tracks "Modern Man" and "City With No Children" If it wasn't for the credible accusations against Win Butler, I'd seek out their music outside of this project, but given those, I'd rather not.

First song is great but the rest is a not so for me!

I think this was pretty mid.

I enjoyed this, even added a few songs. I'd do 3.5 if we could do half ratings

legalzinho

A lot better than the other album. Voices are actually pretty great and the music is soothing and creative. Enjoyed this one!

Nice to listen to. Just didn't hear much 4 or 5 star material in there. Liked some of the atmospheric stuff in the second half.

This album reminded me of the Rufus Wainwright album I was generated not too long ago. I kinda liked that one, and the same is true of this one. The music feels fantastical and definitely arty. I wasn't thrilled by it, however. It all felt like one long song.

I'm not sure why I didn't like this more. It's got that moody MGMT vibe and great guitar, good lyrics, I just didn't really feel anything when I listened to it. Maybe it'll get better with repeated listening.

May 30th, 2026 Standouts: modern man, rococo, water hours, we used to wait, sprawl II

Not sure that 3 Arcade Fire albums are necessary additions to the list.

I was working out while listening to this album. Truth be told, I completely forgot I was evaluating the songs. The music just slipped into the background. Based on that I have to say nothing shocked me positively or negatively so this is simply middle of the road. Not a fan but not a critic.

Eh...bland and uninteresting, but not terrible. I was bored listening and read through some of the reviews, one really struck me. He wrote of the nostalgia he had for the album, this was released the year he graduated college, how it struck a chord with him and was the soundtrack of that period of his life. All great stuff, enjoyed the review, but then he then went on to say arcade fire is to millennials what Nirvana is to Gen X. That gave me pause and makes me very sad for millenials.

Pretty meh for an Arcade Fire album.

Pretty much exactly what I expected from French canadians

10’s Indie Rock ⭐️The Suburbs

Me da vibes de Djo, no es mi estilo de música pero esta guay.

You can't really go wrong with it.

Enjoyed, I just don’t think albums need to be this long

I really don't know! Arcade fire are so interesting to me. It rarely hits where I can listen to the record through and feel like it's lovable from start to finish. I think there's something about the delivery that (unfairly) tells me this is generic indie and it's worth switching off. I always finding me really enjoying parts on the second listen through though and it definitely feels like there's some good art there. I feel like if I listened to it 10 times I'd learn to really love it, but will I do that? This feels more electronic than I remember them being before and I think it fits (perhaps takes them further away from super twee indie)

plucked a few new tracks from it. overall, i liked it

Fine. Didn't get it

Expected more?

Rating:★★★

Had a couple of these late noughties indie albums now and they tend to provoke the same reaction from me and reading reviews from others. These albums work if you first heard them when you were a teenager, parked in a dimly lit place in your first car. In the passenger seat is a girl, perhaps your childhood sweetheart. Sweat beads on your brow, a product of your nerves and the late summer heat, streams of milky perspiration from the exorbitant amount of wax in your hair. The windows, rolled all the way up are opaque with steam. Conversation has subsided, you panic, it's awkward, the steam from the windows suffocates you. The radio is a lifeline. You hit play. It's The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. Fifteen years later you press play once more. You're not in that stuffy car anymore. You're at home with two children tearing around. Perhaps that childhood sweetheart is now your wife, or perhaps she's just a memory. Sweat doesn't drip from your nervous brow, and you no longer coat your hair with a slick of wax. Maybe there isn't even any hair left. But for 75 minutes you're back to being 16, blissfully carefree. However, I am not this person. So, I find this album, like many of this style, to be just fine. It's all quite samey, and it's very long. It's harmless, and even I experience a degree of nostalgia from it. But stripping back any imaginary emotions and focusing purely on the music, it's okay. I'd listen again, but not in a hurry.

I like their sound. A lot of it has a nostalgic feel to it without me having actually heard this album before

Decent suburbia was favourite

On a first listen, not really for me. Who knows.

I would give this 3.5 stars. Again, another artist I knew of, but had not listened to an album by them.

Repeat listen

Despite this album’s considerable virtues you can already see the beginnings of what ended up destroying this band, mainly a focus on Big Statements over melody, a growing sameness, and a pivot to synths over traditional rock instrumentation. Granted, synths eventually start looking good to every washed-up rock group, but only a lucky few (one out of ten, maybe?) are able to come out the other side of that unscathed. Arcade Fire, somewhat infamously, did not. Still, there are numerous excellent songs here: “The Suburbs,” “Ready to Start,” “City With No Children,” “Modern Man,” “We Used to Wait”…it all is a bit too long, though. Best track: “Ready to Start”

A bit all over the place, some songs were decent, but others felt like I'd taken too big of a bite and my mouth was too full. I'd rate it a 6.5/10 but there's no way to rate it even half stars.

Not super familiar with this and as such, so not a huge amocunt of nostalgia to rely on for vibing through it, but it did a good job on its own! The first track is an entry drug, that's for sure, with is rolling piano, lazy drums and sweeping vocals. You're then taken on a wild journey through powerhouse orchestral tracks such as 'Empty Room' and back. By the time 'Wasted Hours' arrives, you're glad to resolve on the now familiar, sundrenched, relaxed, porch-sitting groove. # Respect for when an album feels like a complete work, rather than a collection of individual songs. 3 stars.

More to love here than I remembered, for sure, but boy does this thing ... ahem ... sprawl. Those strings on Empty Room, yes please; the rhythmic tension at the opening of We Used to Wait, absolutely; all of Sprawl II, of course. But the endless midtempo yawnfests on the My First Anticapitalist theme - not so much. A three for the moments Win shuts up about the kids and lets everyone else take over.

not really my music genre but there are some catchy lyrics und good instrumentals

Just about the most 3 you'll ever get

Ready to start vond ik het leukst, de rest duurde me net iets te lang en leken ze teveel op elkaar

Creo que me gustó más Neon Bible, pero la verdad es que este álbum tiene unos temazos. Realmente Arcade Fire es uno de los grandes descubrimientos personales de esta lista.

I dunno, fine? Not bad?

Ready to start

I love the suburbs, but the rest of the album doesn't hit quite as hard. Still an enjoyable listen.

- More SA and predatory behaviour for this list. I used to love Arcade Fire, but yet another on the boycott list for me! - This album was never my favourite, though - it's good, and there are a lot of great songs on it, but I don't like it as much as the previous ones. After this album, they did that pretentiously long one, and this one felt like it was heading there (it's definitely too long). I just read that the special anniversary version contains "an 80-page booklet"... <rolls eyes>. - To me, this album feels like it's trying to recreate the magic of the debut album, but it doesn't quite reach those heights. - It starts out really promising -- the first two songs are really good. I just find that there's a lot of filler (e.g., Modern Man, Rococo, Empty Room, though I like the fluttering strings and how it sweeps... etc). There are a lot of songs I really like, though - City With No Children, Half Light II, Suburban War, Wasted Hours, We Used to Wait. The other songs are fine, but I just never seek them out or am excited to hear them on the album. - Also, I've never really been that into the woman singer's (really thin) voice, and I think she's featured more than I like on this album, but I enjoy it when she's harmonizing (e.g., Half Light II). - 3.5 rounded down.

1001 Albums Generator 288 (5/11/2026) Pretty good mix of chamber pop and indie rock, but not nearly as tight as Funeral. It starts strong with Arcade Fire's biggest hit, followed by two very solid tracks, but there's a lot of fluff in the middle of the tracklist. 3.5/5, rounded down to 3. Favs: The Suburbs Modern Man Sprawl II Least Fav: Rococo

These guys don’t do it for me.

Se nostalgia tivesse um som, seria mais ou menos assim. Funeral também possui uma sonoridade assim, agridoce, repleta de memórias inexistentes, falei sobre isso naquela review. E eu digo isso sendo que não conhecia essa banda na minha infância, não é algo pessoal, estou analisando do lado de fora. Sobre Suburbs, prefiro o estilo mais compacto e direto ao ponto da estréia do grupo, Funeral. Vejo o valor dessa odisseia que eles criaram aqui, e certamente há muitos momentos lindos neste disco, verdadeiramente emocionantes e exilirantes. Mas… odeio quando há um mas. A verdade é que o disco se perde um pouco no meio da sua própria grandeza, e em alguns momentos eu senti uma falta de direção. Não me prendeu da mesma forma. Uma pena, mas têm seus belos momentos e no geral eu gostei. 3.5

alr but too pop

Number: 122 Date: 05/05/2026 Artist: Arcade Fire Album: The Suburbs Year: 2010 Genre: Indie Rock Familiarity: Well-versed (4) Rating: 3 Before: ======= I like Arcade Fire pretty well. They're not one of my favorites but they would be a contender for my favorite top 200 musical artists. I also believe they deserve consideration for a spot on a list of top 1000 albums, but not for this one. I've never listened to the whole thing all the way through, but have skimmed it. Maybe I'll change my mind but as of now Neon Bible is hands down my favorite from them. During: ======= 3 The Suburbs 3 Ready To Start 3 Modern Man 3 Rococo 3 Empty Room 4 City With No Children 4 Half Light I 4 Half Light II (No Celebration) 3 Month Of May 3 Wasted Hours 4 Deep Blue 3 We Used To Wait 3 Sprawl I (Flatland) 5 Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) 4 Suburban War 3 The Suburbs (Continued) ----------------------------------------------------- 3.50 WEIGHTED AVERAGE (accounts for song lengths) After : ======= 3 my personal rating 2 suitability for this list 3 impact ----------------------------------------------- 2.7 composite rating After : ======= Yeah, it's OK, but I personally think one album from them on this list is plenty and it should be Neon Bible because that is their best, imo.

Good, not great. A couple of outstanding tracks but quite a bit of clever but unfocused noodling that isn't that musically expansive. I'm sure they're a great soundtrack to a balmy late summer afternoon festival picnic when you're 6 ciders in and slightly sunburned

❤️

I know this was highly acclaimed at the time and even if I like this band somewhat it didn't move me that much. Its an interesting concept album about suburban decline and the inevitable of the future but I didn't enjoy many of the tracks in the middle. Nonetheless, the title track is always a great listen.

Cool feelings music, sounds like 80s new wave plus EDM. A bit repetitive though.

Honestly just entirely unremarkable; all entirely listenable and perfectly pleasant, but it's also just extremely generic indie poprock. Listened while working and it manage to grab my attention (for either good or bad) even a single time. The most mid, mid that ever did mid.

Highlights: Pretty much all really cool usage of feedback Rococo Half Light 2 These guys kinda get it... some songs have incredible feedback usage. Unfortunately the songs that don't incorporate this magical noise are bland and boring Very High 3

I was expecting to dislike this album, given my current musical preferences. But I found myself pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect.. the whiny male vocals can be a tad grating at times. But there are moments of brilliance that elevate this album to something worth revisiting. So here I am, reminiscing about days gone by, enjoying Arcade Fire's unique brand of indie rock once more. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - The Suburbs - Ready To Start - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

Kinda reminded me of the Flaming Lips.

There’s a 4-star, ten track album within these 16 tracks for sure. A handfuls of songs here measure up nicely to the band’s best work. But overall it feels bloated and weighed down by forced narratives. The end of an era for the band for sure.

I understand some folks like arcade fire, I like a song here and there but I am not a fan of listening to too many of them in a row

*I like Arcade Fire's more uptemp0 stuff better *Very shoegazey and that's not my thing

Not too bad.

некоторые треки рисовали в голове разные кинематографичные сцены, эмоциональные сюжеты. но в остальном скучновато. на фон кайф.

ugh.... these guys again. it's astronomically unlikely that we roll all 3 arcade fire albums in our first 50, but here we are. at least this is the last of em...... of the three, this album has the strongest instrumentation by far. i think my favourite track is "empty room", which has a shoegazey sound that fits perfectly on yet another hot & sunny day (letting the tides of reverb wash over me helps me avoid thinking about why we're consistently hitting temperatures over 20°c during april in fucking britain of all places), but i enjoyed the industrial edge of "rococo" and the experimentation with a 9/8 time signature on "modern man". as usual arcade fire has a tendency to slip into an undeservedly dramatic vibe, as they do on "half light i" for example, but i noticed it less this time. the band did good here. unfortunately though, as with neon bible, i think i'd prefer this much more as an instrumental album. the lyrics are bad again, but this time in a pretentious bullshit way. whining about growing up in the suburbs rings kinda hollow when you're in your 30s and fucking minted, insisting on recording on all vintage equipment and having your tracks mixed by 6 engineers at a time because you don't wanna use automation. "indie rock", huh? gimme a fucking break. "sprawl ii" is perhaps the worst for this with its lyrics consisting mostly of vacuous lamentation over urban sprawl and the woes of being a creative in an unsupportive environment, which again feels tone-deaf when you're a member of a band that bought a fucking church to record in. it's a shame because it's also one of the only songs on the album where régine chassagne gets to perform without win butler singing over the top of her, but if these are the lyrics she's coming up with then maybe i should be thankful..... i'm still giving this one a 3 on the strength of everything that isn't the vocals, but this is largely due to my enjoyment of it on my first listen where i actively refused to process the lyrics. the more i process them and learn about the excess that went into this album's production, the more i sour on it all, and the harder it gets to justify that grade, so don't be surprised if this drops to a 2 in the near future. maybe this band is irredeemable after all.

Much like Funeral this album has its highs, but is The Suburbs the better of the inclusions? Albums like them both need time to marinate, and the format of this project force you to revisit them as you make your journey

I found this quite slow and stripped down during a lot of parts, and only one song really caught my ear. It was alright to have in the background, but I did catch myself absentmindedly skipping a song (I went back), which I never do.

Me gusto mucho

Started out good, but the full album is a slog and gets repetitive.

Fue muy rápido otro disco de Arcade fire. Me pasa que no logro enganchar pero suena bien como de fondo

Me gusto más que el otro disco de Arcade fire

Otro disco de arcade fire? Son amigos del dueño? Este al menos parece ser un poco mejor, si me preguntas si me acuerdo una canción te digo que no. Y si me apuras en 3 semanas no me acuerdo el disco No queda guardado

guay

good groove to keep playing on a sunny morning; might be great for tidying up - cannot recall a particular song

I guess it was okay. I had to relisten to some of it because I spaced out and boom, 5 just had just passed with me noticing it. I will round up from 2.5 because it was good background music that never offended.

3.5. Good but mostly seemed to be background music for me. Nothing grabbed me.

괜찮음

The songs on this one sound a bit more subdued and less bombastic compared to their previous record, Neon Bible. It's a welcome change - Bible sounded like a balls-to-the-wall revival-circus experiment and made it kind of exhausting to listen to. The inventive sounds and arrangements are still here, and they still bring an intensity, but the earnestness and conceptivity is mostly dialed back to a more engaging level.

loved the songs that had the female singer in it, got a bit of everything, wouldnt say got a fav song but a good album to just to play in the background, sprawl II is nice

2010s boppin, you know. Not bad, but of the time

When to listen: suburban yearning. I always hated when men waxed poetic about Arcade Fire, but perhaps they were onto something. I liked the musical allusions and I liked the lyricism.

3.5. Some nice songs, but a bit too long with some filler

Το άλμπουμ νομίζω είχε να κάνει με καταπίεση ή κάτι τέτοιο... δεν είμαι πολύ σίγουρος. Έχει ένα early 2000 θλιβερό ήχο. Μερικά κομμάτια είχαν πιο γρήγορο τεμπο αλλά τα περρισότερα ακολουθούσαν τη παραπάνω λογική. Είχε ωραίο ήχο αλλα προσωπικά βαρέθηκα μερικά. Month of May

pretty good fell off in the middle tho 72/100 started off really strong

No fav song

I guess there are quite good musicians in the band. But it didn't convince me, though.

This is the third AF album I've gotten so far. Can't imagine there are many more on this list. What I've learned is that they haven't held up as well as I would have thought they would've. Oh well.

Not bad. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to listen to it again. It seems like something that could grow on me with time. But I'll give it a 3 for now.

Well, they can't all be Master of Puppets The thing about Arcade Fire isn't even that they're bad. They're aggressively fine. The thing is that they are never as good as the critics and fans try to say. There isn't really an analogue... there are lots of overrated bands that are at least unique. There are lots of very popular bands that are critically hated, because they are terrible. There aren't many bands who get the ass kissed deeper for less. And that makes rating hard, because it kinda always comes up against that bias. To be fair, though, this album isn't one I've heard and it is better than the ones i have. The best stuff here is the female fronted stuff. The majority of this is not that. It feels like an album that wants to be something without knowing exactly what. I think i would like it more if it succeeded in finding out. It also feels like it would be a breakout album from another band. For some reason, from the arcade fire, it feels more like a reinvention to fit into the modern scene, not one to shed a skin of youth into maturity. Certainly win butler cannot be said to have blossomed into maturity at all. There's just always something that feels not quite right. Probably a light 3* in total fairness, though Sprawl II is a hidden gem (compare to Sprawl I for my point about the female vocal songs being better than win's)

3/5. The Suburbs is the best arcade fire album in my opinion (I generally do not like Arcade Fire particularly much). that being said I’m still not in love with the album as a whole, there are just some high-highs like the one-two opening punch of “the suburbs” and “ready to start” or the hard hitting “empty room.” But as a whole I’ve still just never had that “aha” moment with arcade fire where I truly love one of their albums even though I typically love me some indie rock. There are enough good songs here though to where it was a decent experience.

Lacks the dynamism and variety of both Funeral and Neon Bible. It’s not a bad album but it’s a bit boring and samey. 3

ehh pretty good, it was alright. probably wouldn’t listen again but it was catchy 👍

As the cover goes, a great road-trip album. One to go back to. Tad too long.

I am not the biggest Arcade Fire fan, I find their music passable and forgettable. I dont have any major qualms with this album, and it ends strongly, but its just missing the Pizazz that it needs. 3/5

Highlights: title track, Sprawl II, Month of May, Rococco, Empty Room

A bit longer than it needs to be, but has all of the best parts of what Arcade Fire does included amidst some draggy sections. A fun listen, and it was great to have a reason to re-listen to an album I already knew I liked. However, this probably isn’t even the best Arcade Fire album, let alone something near the top tier for me in general.

The suburbs is GREAT.

Funny that one of the best tracks, "Sprawl", occurs at the end of the album. You have to drive through several neighborhoods - some bland, some interesting - to get there, and you're a little tired when you arrive, You can't quite remember where you started from, but you enjoyed the scenery. Some of it was beautiful, in fact. But you wish the trip had been a little shorter.

Rococo wasn't that bad guys. But fr they're sort of giving sad, low production MGMT

Chilla, lekkurt. Ikki so galið. Meira lekkur bakgrundstónleikur enn fara djúpt inn í tekstin. Heitur.

A chill album to listen to while working, I liked it Fav songs - Ready to Start, Empty Room 3/5

lo escuche una sola vez y no me enloquece mucho. muy indie. algun que otro temon

This was generally a good album. Although, besides one song, "Rococo", I'm not sure if I could name other songs on this album that I liked. This just seemed like a concept album that took the genericism of the suburbs as inspiration and then took that inspiration too far.

Back when this came it I remember it felt like something new was happening. But it hasn’t aged very well. It’s about as exciting as the suburbs themselves.

No es mi tipo de música por eso me costó un poco escucharlo. Me gustó más sobre el final. Lo que me gustó también es como suenan todos los instrumentos y todos tienen su protagonismo.

Un sound che assomiglia ai Blur di oggi. Ottimo se durante una passeggiata in montagna dopo mesi in pianura padana pesti una merda di mucca ma te ne freghi, la scarpa si pulirà durante il resto del cammino

Some highs but this album did not catch me off guard once, a bit flat although is a good listen don't get me wrong, more like a weak 3

Not overly inspiring, not overly disappointing. It just is what it is.

I really dug this album when it came out and haven't listened in years. In fact, if I had to guess which of the three albums of theirs from this list would be my favorite, I'd assume it to be this one. But I would assume wrong! I like the songs where the woman's vocals are more the star, but the dude has a bit of a whiny factor to him, and it got to be a lot after an hour + of this. It's the same emotional drip song after song, and I'm just not this emo anymore apparently! They need to make more II songs because Sprawl II and Half Light II are my faves on here. Anyway, apparently Funeral wins my top vote based on my reviews!

Interesting concept but I found the music a bit boring for such a long album.

Ok listening, no songs really stuck with me but i've added the album to a playlist for another listening

I do love a concept album. But I would never have believed you if you told me this was album of the year. Sprawl II is gas though.

I was happy for the album to finish. It wasn't bad it was just boring. Almost like the low-fat vanilla ice cream of alt rock. Just bland and almost being pretentious at times. I've listened to other arcade fire songs and they were much better. More edgy.

Just good

Love that Arcade Fie went for a concept here, but it just drones on...It's good but I wouldn't want to lisen to this as long as I did.

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: The Suburbs, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Standard affair indie music. I don't necessarily think this album deserves all of the accolades it seems to have gotten, but neither is it a bad album. There's good guitar solos and a lot of the music is sonically dense, which I tend to appreciate. For the most part, I usually hone in on the musical aspect of... music (as opposed to the lyrics). I like good beats, rhythms, melodies, solos, etc. and rarely focus on the lyrical content (except for Rap/hip-hop music). Consequently, I read about people's reviews of albums (after submitting my own notes) and usually observe how I completely missed the fact that an album was about X, whether X is depressing topics, social critique, or what have you, and I suspect that this album has something to do with life in .... wait for it.... the suburbs! Did I catch any of the points of any of the songs? No not really. Was the music pleasant to listen to? Yea, sure. Did it resonate with me? Eh, not really. Is this an album I must hear before I die? Perhaps. Culturally the indie genre has been quite relevant and important these past 20-25 years, but I am not sure how this album differs from their other album on the List Funeral, which I gave a 3. I would perhaps bump this up to a 3.5, but I would also round down in this case. I don't think its a 4.

Probably the worst arcade fire album I've heard so far (of their first 3). Very boring stuff though a couple songs save this from being 2 stars

Some of the youthful longing has sapped out of this album over time, it's hard to evaluate it objectively against how my perspective has grown since hearing it first over a decade ago.

Music is not suggests anything exciting Words are avarahge

Buen album, 3/10 cancion fav: month of may

This was a pleasant listen. It sounds very much like alt rock from the 2010's.

meh

I love arcade fire but I was not feeling this album as much.

Hay unos cuantos temas muy guays, pero a partir de empty room excepto una por en medio de después me ha aburrido un poco.

This week I learned about the genre "goblincore". It involves floaty vocals, acoustic melodies and breathless indie folk nonsense. I'm frankly disappointed, there's no way something called "goblincore" should be so boring, but here we are. Why would I tell you all this? I blame Arcade Fire for my disappointment. This album should have been Funeral.

I love the style.

Really unique band that sounds like if U2 combined with MGMT. Some really good songs and great instrumentation. Main gripe with the album is that it's too long and there's some "filler" songs that took away from the whole album listening experience. Otherwise, I would give it a 4

album bardzo jednoliniowy, ale nie slucha sie go zle i nutka otwierajaca album jest moim zdaniem bardzo przyjemna

It boggles my mind that people mention this album in the same breath as they do Funeral and Neon Bible. Those albums are masterpieces. This album is...fine? Some good tracks but bloated with too much filler and way less interesting instrumentation.

This record came out in 2010 and I was obsessed with it for about a month. I really loved it, especially the title track. To be honest, I wasn't much of an Arcade Fire fan before or since. And listening again, I see why. There’s just not very much “there” there. It’s kind of a hollow shell that sounds generically like late aughts/early 10s music. Not bad but not anything special. They went downhill pretty rapidly from here and are now essentially done because the singer is a POS and his wife was an essential part of the band. Kinda like Sonic Youth, but a mediocre boring Canadian version

Taki jakiś nijaki. Jak dla mnie średniak ale co kto lubi.

It’s fair. But not 1000 great.

Arcade Fire are known for their ability to make a good song. Unfortunately they sometimes choose to ignore this ability and make a bad song instead. Highlights: "The Suburbs", "Empty Room", "Suburban War", "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"

Ambiance agréable mais rien de trop marquant

Idrk what I was listening to.. might need to listen again.

Light 3,5

скучно

6/10

Some songs are very catchy and worth the listen but overall this record feels stretchy and at times even boring. I never picked it up before this and it doesnt feel like i missed anything.

ive never heard of arcade fire till now but im impressed. again id have to be in a certain mood but i listened to this album whilst drawing and the ones that made me pause and be like wow were : ready to start, rococo, half light |, month of may and sprawl || (mountains beyond mountains) tie for my ultimate favourite on this album !!!!!

3.5/5

Another solid album from Arcade Fire. Not as good as Funeral, but very enjoyable. I need to explore more of their music.

This is fine, not really a genre I'm into but even then not really sure why I've had 2 albums from this group. Inoffensive but kind of forgettable.

decent, ngl i preferred the songs with the woman singing i think even when her voice was more prominently in the background, some songs i liked more but overall it was fine just not too impressive imo

Really liked this and never heard of them.

Historically I don't really like Arcade Fire but a couple of the songs were pretty catchy and I even added We Used to Wait to my indie playlist. The rest of it is like boring theater. You can tell there is passion and talent there but I just really don't care.

not really my style

Sounds like Coldplay if they ditched the piano abd played the same drums every song. First few songs are solid though.

some good ones, but i cannot get into arcade fire for some reason 3.5/5

Not a "must listen" tbh. 3.5

It's pretty good, nice to listen to but nothing that sticks out to me

It was alright

3.5

tiene un gran sonido, todas las ideas están buenas y suenan bien (los finales con los principios de las canciones, los giros a la mitad, las rockeras y también las poquitas que son más tranquis), me falto conectar con una mucho que diga uf LA canción pero creo que super cumplio

This band have been majorly hyped and I can recognise the musicianship and song writing but does not appeal to me as this isn’t something new or ground breaking and left me a little cold

I used to listen to Funeral a lot in my teens but stopped listening before this release. I never fully checked out this album other than the radio hits so I was looking forward to revisiting. Unfortunately the rest of the songs were pretty dull. Still like them though

I liked it.

Really??? three Arcade Fire albums? 2.8/5

Some good melodies and I think a few songs could grow on me.

6,5/10 proper indie album essential, enjoyed listening to it but probably wont ever again

Even if I liked their first album more, there’s something about this one that still pulls me in.

I have a soft spot for this album but unfortunately the guy is a nonce

This is so milenial hope

Good hipster shit

Some good variety. Kind of reminds me of belle and Sebastian.

This feels like soaring. A body of energy from below pushing upwards and lifting a windglider further and further. It's the perfect amount of thermals, ridge lift, and mountain waves that create a solid, steady motion.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this album but I can't fathom why it's on the list. There are two other AF albums on the list. Those I get. This is fine with an capital "F" and that's it. I have never particularly enjoyed AF but this album lacks any sort of distinctive quality.

3.5/5- Some songs i rlly liked! the overall sound of the album was rlly cohesive.

I didn't hate it. A lot of it was very catchy. If someone were listening to it I wouldn't have a problem with it. If one song came on my playlist occasionally I wouldn't skip it and I would enjoy it. Since it's not exactly my style, listening to the entire album was a bit much. I do appreciate the 80s feel of it though. Listening to it made me think of the fringe characters in an 80s teen movie who are actually the coolest in the school even though they're not popular.

3.0 - Ok

So 2010

Arcade Fire, eine Rock-Band aus Kanada, nahmen „The Suburbs“ zwischen 2008 und 2010 an verschiedenen Orten auf, etwa im privaten Studio der Band in Quebec, im Magic Shop in New York und anderen kleineren Studios. Das Album spiegelt einen Indie-Rock-Ansatz mit Elementen aus Art Rock und Post-Punk Revival wider. Das dritte Studioalbum enthält 16 Titel, darunter mehrere Singles wie „The Suburbs/Month of May“, „Ready to Start“, „We Used to Wait“ und „City with No Children“. Diese Stücke zeigen die thematische Auseinandersetzung mit Erinnerungen an suburbane Lebenswelten und eine musikalische Bandbreite zwischen Indie-Rock-Rhythmen und orchestralen Arrangements. Die Produktion zeichnet sich durch eine Mischung aus Band-Eigenproduktion und Co-Produktion mit Markus Dravs aus und nutzt unterschiedliche Aufnahmeumgebungen, was dem Album einen facettenreichen Klang gibt. Die Texte und Kompositionen spiegeln persönliche Perspektiven auf moderne Alltagswelten wider, ohne sich in Übertreibungen zu verlieren. Die Auswahl der Songs umfasst sowohl den titelgebenden Eröffnungstrack als auch introspektivere Stücke wie „We Used to Wait“ und rhythmisch treibende Nummern wie „Ready to Start“. Insgesamt lässt sich das Werk dem weiteren Indie-Rock-Umfeld zuordnen.

not bad. not my vibe but not bad