Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 00's: # 9

Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Genre: Indie rock, Baroque pop, Art rock

Label: Merge

Producer: Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a Canadian band that combines beautiful orchestrations, vocals, and lyrics to make amazing albums. Funeral is a beautiful album:  Arcade Fire deservingly won “best album of the year” for their album The Suburbs at the 2011 Grammy Awards. I could argue, however, that Funeral is the better album in my opinion. As cliché as it sounds, listening to this album is similar to going on an adventure. The opening track “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” draws you in with it’s catchy string arrangement. The song’s whirly orchestration and earnest vocals from lead vocalist Win Butler sets the tone for the rest of the album.  The next track, “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” is a loud, catchy, and fun track. It is here where you first here Régine Chassagne, the other vocalist in Arcade Fire, and the wonderful harmonies that occur when she sings with Win Butler. The lyrics get a little whacky here:

“Our mother should have just named you Laika!
It’s for your own good
It’s for the neighborhood,”

Butler sings passionately, with the assistance of Chassagne. The album flows on eventually to “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, which music and vocal delivery makes it an infectiously catchy song that makes your head nod along.

The song “Wake Up” is the standout track for me. The catchy, yet very simple guitar riff, sing-a-long-ability of the lyrics, and the vocals of Win Butler makes the song a huge win (see what I did there ;]). The song is somber and the lyrics are haunting:

“If the children don’t grow up,

our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.

We’re just a million little godscausin’ rain storms, turnin’ every good thing to rust,”

the lyrics are amazing and very powerful. The music than shifts to bubbly and becomes more upbeat, which contradicts the words being sung:

 “With my lightnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’ to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.”

It is a great song with a lot of heart. I recommend to anyone who is even slightly interested to listen to it.

The song following is entitled “Haiti”, which is sung by Chassagne. She switches between English and French making a song that sounds very pretty. It’s a very laid-back song. Next up is “Rebellion (Lies)” which is catchy with a bumping beat. The lyrical content is that of paranoia:

 “Hidin’ from your brothers
underneath the covers,
come on hide your lovers
underneath the covers.”

 Lastly, but certainly not least, is the amazing closer song for the album: “In The Backseat.” The song consists of the beautiful vocals of Chassagne. The song is about death, growth, and change. Chassagne sings passionately:

“Alice died, in the night,
I’ve been learning to drive.
My whole life,
I’ve been learning.”

 The line “I’ve been learning to drive” is such a great line. The weight and metaphor for life that is contained within it makes it a very powerful. The album winds down with Chassagne letting out a cry of emotion and the orchestra playing the album off. The song will definitely resonate with any listener. The orchestration throughout the album makes it something more than ordinary; rather it makes it an experience. A great amount of maturity is shown in Funeral, which is interesting because it is Arcade Fire’s first album. It is such an amazingly human album.

Standout tracks:

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

Wake Up*

In the Backseat*