2010's best album: The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

2009 produced (or perhaps executive produced, since it didn't contribute anything) a swathe of brilliant albums. In my opinion, 2010 was a little less fruitful - a half-eaten banana of a year, by comparison. So when I sat down and thought about which album I liked best, The Suburbs stood head and shoulders and knees above the others.

The formula that makes Arcade Fire such a successful band is very difficult to pin down - though this review was definitely one of the original ingredients. I completely understand why many people can't see what the fuss is about. On paper, there are plenty of obvious weaknesses - Win's voice, Régine's voice, the lyrics so accurately castigated as being intermittently "Reznoresque", the pervasive impression that they can't help but take themselves far too seriously. But shove all those things in a Magimix and let Owen Pallett press the buttons and suddenly the vocals are fragile and articulate, the lyrics seem deliberately vague. And all that pretention? If you hit all your targets, you can aim as high as you like. See also: space archery.

I don't like Neon Bible. I listened, I listened again, I saw them live, I tried desperately to justify it and then I gave up. They'd put down the nutcrackers and picked up a sledgehammer. I was worried.

The Suburbs is much easier to get to grips with. Sprawl II sounds like Heart Of Glass - five words which could never be a criticism - without ever threatening to subside into pastiche. We Used To Wait is a heartfelt plea for a return to space and simplicity - they get it now. Rococo offers a fleeting glimpse of an elusive sense of humour. The album is down-to-earth, mature: almost sparse. It trusts you to draw your own conclusions rather than filling every blank with a book of intellectualised conspiracy theories that you really should have read, man, if only for the wheatgerm smoothie shot and tinfoil hat that came free with it in Barnes & Noble. Did I mention that I don't like Neon Bible?

Downloading the songs or looking them up on Spotify would be a betrayal. Stop. Wait. Hold the album in your hands, in a record store. Take good care of it. Then buy another copy for someone else.