Kanye West titled his 3rd album Graduation, which is incredibly appropriate. The 3rd album from a band/artist often represents a graduation to another level.
In the most basic of terms, when a band releases their 3rd album, it means they've been around for at least a little while, and are still making records. Arcade Fire have been a part of my life since 2k4, that's 6 years now. They've already been with me through multiple stages of life.
There's also the matter of pure volume + variety of songs. When I really love a debut album from a group, I spin it so many times that I'll usually get burned out, and I gotta put it down for a while. But if that's the only record that a band has, that band basically ceases to exist for a time. I played Vampire Weekend so much that I just couldn't listen to it anymore, and I didn't listen to the band at all for 6 months or so until Contra came out.
When Arcade Fire dropped their sophomore release Neon Bible, that was my fucking album. Funeral is the better record, and will be very difficult for the band to top, but Neon Bible came around right at the height of my obsession, and perfectly fit my state of mind/state of being at the time. It is rivaled only by of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? in number of plays on my iTunes.
Anyway, the point is, I had pretty much worn out both Funeral and Neon Bible. A third album is very much needed from the group. At this point their collection of songs will 'graduate' into a full catalog. After I play this third album to death, I should be able to alternate between records and each will remain fresh.
As a general rule, a third album is also enough time for a band to progress and develop, and then release a record that is truly great. The classic example for this would be Radiohead's OK Computer. I suppose an exception to this would be Weezer, for whom many fans would be happy if they just stopped after sophomore release Pinkerton and left it at that.
Finally, a third album can often be a time when a band achieves a new level of commercial success and recognition. LCD Soundsystem's recent release This Is Happening seems to be a good recent example. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I believe the record 'charted' more and got more 'mainstream' recognition than Sound of Silver did when it was released. Spoon would be an exception to this rule - I believe it took their 5th or 6th album before they got to the level of awareness they have now.
Arcade Fire seem poised to follow this rule, however. They're playing Madison Square Garden in upcoming shows, holy shit! Their third album drops on August 3. It's called The Suburbs.
Here's the tracklisting:
01. The Suburbs
02. Ready to Start
03. Modern Man
04. Rococo
05. Empty Room
06. City With No Children
07. Half Light 1
08. Half Light II (No Celebration)
09. Suburban War
10. Month of May
11. Wasted Hours
12. Deep Blue
13. We Used to Wait
14. Sprawl I (Flatland)
15. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
16 . The Suburbs (Continued)
You can pre-order The Suburbs from Merge here.
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