[FighterAndLover]

I think the so called "sophomore slump" is more of a myth than anything, lots of bands have great second albums. New Pornographers, Pearl Jam, The Hip, Trail of Dead, Stone Temple Pilots, Wintersleep, TV on the Radio, I Mother Earth, Foo Fighters, Big Wreck, Sylvie, Oasis, Nirvana, Matthew Good Band, Matt Mays, Tool, QOTSA, Rage, Soundgarden... In some of these cases I consider their second effort their best.

Hmm.. I guess my point was more if I loved a band's first album, it's rare that they delivered again on the second album. If I loved a bands second album, it was rare that I also loved their first. So I think that knocks a few off the list. So I'm saying Arcade Fire delivered two solid albums, both of which I loved from the start, and that's rare in a band, not that the second album by a band is usually bad.

i.e. I like Last of the Ghetto Astronaughts by Matthew Good Band, but their first album History Teacher is, as Matt says, "The biggest piece of shit I've ever heard."