The Arcade Fire

Every now and again, a band or an artist comes along in the rock world that is special like no other. And more often than not, this artist sounds nothing like the other mainstream acts that populate the current framework of popular musicians. While this doesn’t tend to occur too often, it seems that it has in the past year with the surfacing of the Montreal progressive rock outfit known as the Arcade Fire. The Arcade Fire has been applauded by fans, critics and fellow musicians as the best and most innovative band to surface in a long time. And despite the fact that the band’s debut album Funeral was released back in the fall of 2004, it has really only caught on in a major way within that last half of 2005. After finally giving into the hype and giving Funeral a try, I can safely say that the hype around the Arcade Fire is quite warranted as the band has produced an excellent debut LP.

The ten track disc begins with “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” a solid way to begin. Immediately the listener gets introduced to just what the Arcade Fire is all about with its soulful vocals courtesy lead singer Win Butler and elaborate melodies. Track two “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” moves a little quicker than the first song and it introduces a trademark of the band’s sound: the accordion. Rather than sounding horrible and ridiculous, the band utilizes the accordion well and it really adds a cool dynamic to their sound. Song three carries the French title “Une Annee Sans Lumiere,” and it is sung partially in French and English. By this point, it becomes pretty evident that the Arcade Fire are something very different from the rest of mainstream alternative rock and while it’s a decent song, it’s certainly not one of the best on the disc. The big single off of Funeral “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” comes next and even though it’s the song the band is known for, it’s not even in the top five songs on the disc. “Neighbourhood #4 (7 Kettles)” rounds out the first half of the album and while it moves slowly, it’s a great tune that showcases some of Butler’s best vocals.

Even though the first half of Funeral is first-rate, the second half is just as good. “Crown of Love” is perhaps the balladiest song on the album and despite the fact that it’s not one of my favorites, it’s probably the most musically advanced of all the songs. The crowning achievement of the album really comes at track seven, the disc’s third single “Wake Up.” The song is the most guitar rock influenced of all the tracks and it sounds a lot like a song right out of the Pixies’ catalogue. Butler sounds a lot like Pixies’ lead singer Frank Black on “Wake Up,” and it very well might be the best song of 2005. For the mellow, tropical island sounding “Haiti,” Butler passes the microphone to his wife Regine Chassagne and her vocals alternate between French and English. It is probably the most unconventional and least rock influenced song on the album, but it’s surprisingly a very good song. The disc’s second single “Rebellion (Lies)” is next, another Pixies sounding tune that is among the two or three best tracks.

The final track on Funeral “The Backseat” also happens to be the weakest. Chassagne is on lead vocals again on this song and her vocals just sound annoying. The song takes forever to build up and by the time it starts to rock out, it’s already gotten boring. Even though “The Backseat” is a small bump in the road, Funeral is without a doubt a surprisingly exceptional record. It sounds fresh, innovative and experimental, a welcome relief from some of the current mainstream rock music. The hype and acclaim is deserved, the Arcade Fire has created a brilliant piece of work.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
02. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
03. Une Annee Sans Lumiere
04. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
05. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)
06. Crown of Love
07. Wake Up
08. Haiti
09. Rebellion (Lies)
10. The Backseat

Run Time: 47:56