When we last heard from Arcade Fire, the band was raging against the evils of war and religion with 2007’s Neon Bible. Three years later, The Suburbs conveys less anger, and more suffering. Among comparisons to earlier albums (Funeral and Neon Bible), the 16-track album stands alone.

The group’s creativity transforms the philosophical quandaries of urban subject matter into 65 minutes of the most cathartic contemplation of life. “Suburban War” soars from drifting lulls to chilling highs, pushing and pulling between themes of acceptance and regret.

Brimming with references to youthful naivety through the phrase “the kids” – “The kids have always known that the emperor wears no clothes/But they bow down to him anyway” – what seems to be an album displaying cynicism towards society’s youth translates into a disquieting masterpiece. The kids in question are Butler and his multi-instrumentalist brother, Will, with songs that chastise but celebrate youthful frustrations like in the piano melodies in “We Used To Wait.” Chassagne sings, “Sometimes I wonder if the world’s so small/That we can never get away from the sprawl,” in “Sprawl II,” addressing the album’s themes of consumerism.

The album echoes an existential angst that makes The Suburbs reach a thematic and compositional sophistication that is both pessimistic and hopeful. The Suburbs is a breath of fresh air, cataloging a kind of dry-eyed realism that’s inspiring while at the same time bitterly nostalgic. The Suburbs truly shows that the group has strengthened the masonry of their ambitious baroque rock around a fascinating suburban theme.