One of indie’s greatest success stories, The Arcade Fire grew quickly after their 2006 release, “Funeral.” This past year saw the group’s music featured in movies, and the band has been nominated for a Grammy for your most loved album of 2010, “The Suburbs.” Singer/songwriter Win Butler fits well into Bruce Springsteen’s shoes and fills them with a gang of breathtaking string arrangements and resentment toward a sheltered childhood, and he dashes it all with some French-Canadian flavor.

“The Suburbs” shows a departure in sound for the band and the expanding boundaries of their music takes on both a lyrical and melodic quality. In “Ready to Start,” performed often as the opening song in concerts this year, Butler is clearly defiant in his refusal to assimilate.

He sings, “I would rather be alone than pretend I feel alright … I would rather be wrong, than live in the shadows of your song.”

Continuing on “Half-Light II” against a distorted, Dylan-esque chord progression, the resentment continues, but in a detached voice, looking back at his former home: he sings, “Even in the half light, we can see that something’s gotta give.”

Prevalent within the confines of the quadruple-side record, the Arcade Fire presents its listeners with a heartbreaking portrayal of growing up.

Over an hour later comes the album’s shining moment and the crown jewel in the band’s repertoire. “Sprawl II” is the most risky attempt at progression the Arcade Fire has put on record, and the experiment is an overwhelming success. Accordionist/vocalist Regine Chassagne belts out a tale of forced restraint and desperation with eyes focused on the cold horizon. She’s trapped in the monolithic suburban prison, and it only fuels her desire to become something bigger. There isn’t a happy ending here, but “The Suburbs” clearly illustrates the innate desire in all of us to dream despite the obstacles the real world throws in our way.