Arcade Fire - 'Neon Bible': A Semiotic Analysis

The sleeve for Arcade Fire's third album 'The Suburbs' embodies all of the themes that are tackled lyrically throughout the record. The record was released with the above image as the main cover and with the seven other images (below) on sale in addition. I'll talk about the collection as a whole. 

The images all feature the same car and an anonymous piece of scenery; houses, fences, 'suburbs'. The car as a symbol denotes movement, but connotes escape and freedom. Turning this on it's head, Arcade Fire have placed the car inwards, static; as if looking back longingly at the place it once came from. The positioning of the viewer - looking through the back window of the car - is reminiscent of a classic 'drive-in cinema, connoting the scene in front as a distant memory, perhaps one replayed over and over - film-like.

The various suburban scenes connote comfortable suburban life, with the absence of character giving the scenes an everyman anonymity. This feeling is enhanced ten-fold by the aged, faded effect on the photographs, denoting aged film cameras and in turn, connoting nostalgia as one flicks through old family photo albums. The fact that Arcade Fire decided to release the album with eight separate covers further connotes this family photo album feel.

Finally, the car appears to be lit differently to the rest of the scene, signifying the possibility that the two images were shot separately and thus further emphasising the distance, both physically in terms of location and emotionally, connoting long-lost nostalgic memories.