Funeral [Digipak] - Arcade Fire (The) > Reviews > The Hottest Thing (yes, THING) of 2005

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Original, funny, terrifying, scary, emotional .  .  . the list goes on
Disadvantages:	Are there any?  Not every track is instantly accesable, but get into it !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

So I'm at the Carling Leeds festival, right, and I'm at the very front of the barrier of the Radio 1/NME tent, and I'm waiting with tears in my eyes for what is the reason that I came here, the very basis of my existance at this point. Kasabian were amazing last night, but these guys are going to blow the roof off. Some people go to festivals for the rioting and the violence, some to shack up with some girl wasted out of her face, some for the bloated healiner or the unheard of indie giant.... me? I'm here to see The Arcade Fire.

Funeral is way different to anything else that I have ever heard before. I like all kinds of music, from classical to jazz and especially rock, and I'm sure that every music fan out there has at some stage had a sinking feeling, like myself, that every new and exciting act is simply recycled from a previous decade. Funeral is beautifully original. Its hard to explain just what it is about this CD that is so damned good, but I will try.

To start with, The Arcade Fire are about as far from the typical rock stereotype as you can get. They use a huge assortment of instruments, from harpsichords to violins and cellos. Two band memebers are married. Live, they switch instruments nearly every song. They are not particually good looking (sorry guys), they have no obvious tatoos or piercings, and they are not totally up themselves.

Funeral is an album of epic scale. The first "half" is constructed from the 4 neighbourhood songs and the interlude "Une Annee Sans Lumiere". The album was written at a time when many close relatives of the band had died (hence the title) and in these opening five tracks you can really feel the bitterness and isolation of death. "Tunnels" is an purposefully underwhelming opener, as with many of the tracks on the album building and building with layers of melody. Track two "Laika" sounds almost identical to a small French town (listen and you'll know what I mean) before transforming in the most unpredictable way imaginable, using chord changes that every band under the sun would kill for. This is the only song on the album that I wasn't an immideate fan on - it is now one of my favourites.

"Emotional" has in the past few years become all to associated with those low-pant wearing 14 years olds wailing about girlfriends and how tough their middle-class lives are. In Funeral there is true emotion, real feeling, those tangiable thoughts and desires, lies and truths that affect all of our lives. When Win Butler tells us that "The power's out in the heart of man" in Neighbourhood 4 (Power Out), we really believe him. His anger in the lines "I went out into the night, I went out to pick a fight with anyone" again is felt. Power Out, by the way, is perhaps the pinnicle of the album. It contains everything that makes the album great: soaring choruses, pounding, dance-like druming, wonderous guitars and those incredible melodies that just seem to slide out of nowhere. It's over five minutes long, but you want it to go on forever.

Every song is worthy of mention; from the absolute delicacy of Crown Of Love to the surging "oooooooohhhhhs" of Wake Up, to the simple beauty of Haiti. But the other song that I really must write home about is Rebellion (Lies).

WOW. Along with Power Out, the best song on the album. the lyrics, as far as I can tell, are a metaphor for fear of death. They are clever, intelligent lyrics - "Every time you close your eyes, LIES! LIES!" - perhaps a rebuke against religion, challanging the existance of a heaven or hell, though I hasten to add that my interpretations are probably wrong. The bass and drums harken back to Power Out, strong, earthy, underpinning the whole song. And those violins! Man, the melodies just seem to creep in with no waring whatsoever! But the true brilliance of Rebellion is its chorus. I cannot express just how epic a chorus this is. Unexpected, whirling, towering - I'm listiening to it right now, and it's bringing a turmoil of emotion to my heart.

So I'm at the front of the Radio 1/NME tent, on the barrier, sweat, blood tears all around me. The lights go down, and perhaps a dozen figures take up position on various wild and wonderful instruments, as well as standard guitar, bass and drums. A few whirring noises, clicks, slight feedback, and The Arcade Fire are off. Were they good? Did I cry with happiness and sadness at the same time? Was it the greatest act that I witnessed at The Carling Weekend? YES YES YES!!!!!!!