The Arcade Fire, like Interpol and Modest Mouse before them, have been
hyped from all corners of the internet so much that when you listen to
them, you realise they aren't actually the best thing since fourpiece
Sliced Bread first took to the stage. However, 'Funeral' may just about
justify the hype. Here's why.
The Montreal band are pretty damn upset about something. 5 deaths occured
within each of the 4 members' families, which may explain the mordid title
of "Funeral". "The Arcade Fire" also has a less than sunshine and lollipops explanation - it was a local Montreal legend that a load of kids had burnt to death in the local games arcade. Nice.
Opener 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)' gets us off to a great start, the lyrics ("Meet me in the middle of the town...forget all we used to know") reminds one, with misty eyes, of the late, great Jeff Buckley. 'Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)' (don't worry, this isn't a concept album), keeps on building and building, and is a great choice for the first single to come off the record. Other highlights include the beautiful 'Une Annee Sans Lumiere' (me and Guillaume know what that means, ner ner) and the brilliant penultimate track, 'Rebellion (Lies)'.
The vocals sound closest to David Byrne of Talking Heads, the music reminds you of a cross between Belle and Sebastian's faux-folk naivety, Radiohead, the aforementioned Interpol and Modest Mouse and the other "next big things", Broken Social Scene.
Funeral - the best debut of the year? It's a close affair between this and Bloc Party so far, but time will tell.
Ollie Connors. |
| Coding: Darren Burrows