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Avg: 4.5 (3528 ratings)
- Date Released: September 14, 2004
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Indie Rock
- Label: Merge Records
Canadian indie rockers record a masterpiece.
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We Say...
The title of Arcade Fire's debut was inspired by a succession of bereavements afflicting the band during its creation. Forced to the creative brink by such an accumulation of sadness, Funeral finds them delving into some odd corners, particularly in the four-part "Neighborhood" suite, a fantasy about children living in the snow, developing without adult input during a prolonged power-cut. Despite the prominently keening violins, the band's dense, layered sound has some similarities with the Flaming Lips, especially since Win Butler's strained squawk of a voice inescapably recalls Wayne Coyne's. The inevitability of aging is the album's main theme, with "flowers growing on the grave of our love" in "Crown of Love," and Butler observing in "Wake Up" how "now that I'm older, my heart [is] colder." Regine Chassagne's "In the Backseat," meanwhile, brings a bittersweet poetry to bereavement, as she notes how "my family tree's losing all its leaves."
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They Say...
Fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the Arcade Fire's emotional debut -- rendered even more poignant by the dedications to recently departed family members contained in its liner notes -- is brave, empowering, and dusted with something that many of the indie-rock genre's more contrived acts desperately lack: an element of real danger. Funeral' s mourners -- specifically Butler and Chassagne -- inhabit the same post-apocalyptic world as London Suede's Dog Man Star; they are broken, beaten, and ferociously romantic, reveling in the brutal beauty of their surroundings like a heathen Adam & Eve. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," the first of four metaphorical forays into the geography of the soul, follows a pair of young lovers who meet in the middle of the town through tunnels that connect to their bedrooms. Over a soaring piano lead that's effectively doubled by distorted guitar, they reach a Lord of the Flies-tinged utopia where they can't even remember their names or the faces of their weeping parents. Butler sings like Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood used to play, like a lion-tamer whose whip grows shorter with each and every lash. He can barely contain himself, and when he lets loose it's both melodic and primal, like Berlin-era Bowie or British Sea Power. "Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)" examines suicidal desperation through an angular Gang of Four prism; the hypnotic wash of strings and subtle meter changes of "Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" winsomely capture the mundane doings of day-to-day existence; and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," Funeral's victorious soul-thumping core, is a goose bump-inducing rallying cry centered around the notion that "the power's out in the heart of man, take it from your heart and put it in your hand." The Arcade Fire are not bereft of whimsy. "Crown of Love" is like a wedding cake dropped in slow motion, utilizing a Johnny Mandel-style string section and a sweet, soda-pop stand chorus to provide solace to a jilted lover yearning for a way back into the fold, and "Haiti" relies on a sunny island melody to explore the complexities of Chassagne's mercurial homeland. However, it's the sheer power and scope of cuts like "Wake Up" -- featuring all 15 musicians singing in unison -- and the mesmerizing, early-Roxy Music pulse of "Rebellion (Lies)" that make Funeral the remarkable achievement that it is. These are songs that pump blood back into the heart as fast and furiously as it's draining from the sleeve on which it beats, and by the time Chassagne dissects her love of riding "In the Backseat" with the radio on, despite her desperate fear of driving, Funeral's singular thread is finally revealed; love does conquer all, especially love for the cathartic power of music.
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| 01. |  |
Neighborhood 1 - Tunnels |
4:48 |
|
| 02. | |
Neighborhood 2 - Laika |
3:32 |
|
| 03. | |
Une Annee Sans Lumiere |
3:41 |
|
| 04. | |
Neighborhood 3 - Power Out |
5:12 |
|
| 05. | |
Neighborhood 4 - 7 Kettles |
4:49 |
|
| 06. | |
Crown Of Love |
4:42 |
|
| 07. | |
Wake Up |
5:35 |
|
| 08. | |
Haiti |
4:07 |
|
| 09. | |
Rebellion (Lies) |
5:10 |
|
| 10. | |
In The Backseat |
6:20 |
|
10 Total Tracks, 47:56 Total Length
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Credits
- Mark Lawson - Engineer // Michael Olsen - Cello // Michael Olsen - Group Member // Mike Olsen - Cello // Jessica Moss - Violin // Jessica Moss - Group Member // Genevieve Heistek - Viola // Genevieve Heistek - Group Member // Howard Bilerman - Guitar // Howard Bilerman - Drums // Howard Bilerman - Engineer // Howard Bilerman - Group Member // Thierry Amar - Engineer // Sophie Trudeau - Violin // Sophie Trudeau - Group Member // Owen Pallett - Violin // Owen Pallett - String Arrangements // Owen Pallett - Group Member // Pietro Amato - Horn // Pietro Amato - Group Member // Arcade Fire - Producer // Arcade Fire - Engineer // Arcade Fire - String Arrangements // Win Butler - Synthesizer // Win Butler - Guitar (Acoustic) // Win Butler - Bass // Win Butler - Piano // Win Butler - Vocals // Win Butler - Gourd // Win Butler - Guitar (12 String Electric) // Win Butler - Group Member // Régine Chassagne - Synthesizer // Régine Chassagne - Percussion // Régine Chassagne - Piano // Régine Chassagne - Accordion // Régine Chassagne - Drums // Régine Chassagne - Recorder // Régine Chassagne - Vocals // Régine Chassagne - Xylophone // Régine Chassagne - Group Member // Richard Reed Parry - Organ // Richard Reed Parry - Synthesizer // Richard Reed Parry - Percussion // Richard Reed Parry - Piano // Richard Reed Parry - Accordion // Richard Reed Parry - Xylophone // Richard Reed Parry - Engineer // Richard Reed Parry - Bass (Upright) // Richard Reed Parry - Guitar (Rickenbacker) // Richard Reed Parry - Group Member // Will Butler - Synthesizer // Will Butler - Bass // Will Butler - Percussion // Will Butler - Xylophone // Will Butler - Group Member // Anita Fust - Harp // Anita Fust - Group Member // Timothy Kingsbury - Guitar (Acoustic) // Timothy Kingsbury - Bass // Timothy Kingsbury - Telecaster // Timothy Kingsbury - Group Member // Tracy Maurice - Cover Art // Ryan Morey - Mastering // Sarah Neufeld - Violin // Sarah Neufeld - String Arrangements // Sarah Neufeld - Group Member // Hilary Treadwell - Photography // Hilary Treadwell - Insert // Arlen Thompson - Drums // Arlen Thompson - Group Member
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