Retro Review: "Funeral" by Arcade Fire

This Canadian sextet flew under the radar until 2004, when they exploded onto the scene with their debut LP, Funeral. From the moment I first listened to these guys, I realized this was something special. A few openers for U2, an endorsement from Chris Martin as "the greatest band in the history of music", a TIME magazine cover story, and a debut at #2 on Billboard's sales chart launched them into the spotlight and brought us last year's Album of the Year, Neon Bible.

But without Funeral, there would be no Neon Bible. I can't think of any other debut album that blew me away this much, at least not off the top of my head. It received rave reviews from tons of media outlets, including a 9.7 from the notoriously elitist and harsh Pitchfork media. So what makes this album so great? It's the layers. All of the band's. talent, creativity, anger, mournfulness, sorrow, pain, and frustration is interwoven into the music. Every riff, every syllable, every bass line, every drum beat can be broken down and analyzed time after time, giving the album unlimited replay-ability.

The album opener, "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)", rattles the album to life with all the majesty of the first scene in a spectacular broadway show. The swirling pianos enter stage right, the waving strings enter stage left, and Win's voice solidifies the song. It's a perfect opener, giving the listener a peek at what Arcade Fire has in store for them. This was the first song I ever heard by Arcade Fire, and all I could think when I heard it was "The potential for epic here is massive".

Funeral continues its triumphant march through the unique-but-now-familiar sound of "Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)". Accordions, among other unique instruments, make the band's second track a hit. The lyrics are simple yet complex, telling the story of a boy named Alex and his attempt to escape the confines of his neighbourhood. The album soars onward from there, giving us a change of pace with "Une Année Sans Lumiére", where the band gives Regine a chance to sing to us about her homeland-in-turmoil Haiti.

The album then hits one of its highest points as the made-for-arenas “Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)” explodes through the speakers with a menacing guitar assault. The song continues to build up to an incredible conclusion, and you can literally feel the sincerity and passion of each instrument being played and each word being sung. Butler’s complex lyrics regarding dealing with loss and apathy in the world does not leave us without hope, he instead gives us a call to arms in the chorus (“And the power’s out in the heart of man/ Take it from your heart, put it in your hand”) arouses intense feelings from a wide range of emotions every time I listen to it. To this day, Power Out remains one of their top three songs, and it’s obvious to hear why.

“Neighbourhood #4 (7 Kettles)” finishes the “neighborhood” imagery on the album, and still remains one of my favorite songs lyrically. A beautiful string arrangement and acoustic guitar provide the backing for this song, but Win’s vocals really take the front stage. Tragic and poetic lyrics talk about watching time pass while hoping for change, and not getting anything but death (“Time keeps creeping through the neighborhood/ Killing old folks, waking up babies just like we knew it would”). The song goes on to talk about the way people (as individuals) seem to have lost the true meaning of life and faith, as is made evident when Win sings “There’s some Spirit I used to know/ That’s been drowned out by the radio”. Such a beautiful song that often goes overlooked on the album.

After the remarkable first five tracks, “Crown of Love” comes along and really slows things down. It’s not a bad song by any means, but it’s just not Arcade Fire’s best. Still a great listen, though, as a constantly cycling pianos and violins cast a haunting shadow on Win Butler’s entrancing vocals and it features truly one of the better string arrangements the group has ever done.

“Wake Up” is perhaps the most uncharacteristically Arcade Fire-ish song on the album, as it is dominated by an overarching drum beat and a distorted guitar riff that repeats throughout the whole song. Win’s vocals aren’t as haunting as chilling as before, now they are more defiant and angered. Win lashes out in a sense against those in society who have taught him not to feel and to become completely numb. The lyrics tell the story of a child who is told not to feel emotions or cry, and as he grows up his heart fills up with nothing but apathy, and his apathy gets the best of him as Win screams out to a generation “We’re just a million little gods causing rainstorms/ Turning every good thing to rust”. It’s another one of those wake up calls to our society, and the track is aptly named.

“Haiti” is sung in part English and part French, but entirely by Regine. Her voice is beautiful and poignant, providing us with a harrowing look into the horrors of living in Haiti, the country her parents fled from in the 1960’s.

The single strongest track on this album, and the resident album titan is “Rebellion (Lies)” by Arcade Fire. A hard, driving bassline and drum beat really propel this song forward from the start, until we are introduced to an intoxicating piano that drones on for the entire song. Win gently warns us in the song not to buy into the lies and scare stories that society tell us, and that everything isn’t quite as bad as it seems. Perhaps the single most addicting part of this song comes when Win croons “Everytime you close your eyes” with a spirited response from a slightly off-pitch choir screaming out “Lies! Lies!” The back and forth is quite astonishing, and the rest of the song and the conclusion are simply breathtaking.

The final song on the album, “In the Backseat”, features a lingering piano arrangement blanketed on top of Regine’s moving vocals. The song talks simply about growing up when tragedy strikes and thus “learning to drive” after years of enjoying “the peace in the backseat”. A beautiful string arrangement overpowers the end of the song in a good way, building up to a collaboration of instruments literally drowning out Regine’s tale of tragedy. It’s quite poetic from a musical, as well as lyrical, standpoint. If you ever listen to this song when you’re down and don’t feel like shedding a tear, you don’t have a heart.

The album as a whole is a slightly upbeat and lighthearted look at tragedy, as it was influenced by three deaths of relatives of bandmembers. Arcade Fire avoids the “emo” pitfalls that most bands fall into when talking about death and manages to not only create deep and thought-provoking lyrics, but also create melodies and arrangements that are completely unique and original. There has never been anybody quite like Arcade Fire, and, in my personal opinion, there never will be.

TRACK RATING BREAKDOWN:
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) – 5
Neighborhood #2 (Laika) – 5
Une Année Sans Lumiére – 4
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) – 5
Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) – 5
Crown of Love – 4
Wake Up – 5
Haiti – 5
Rebellion (Lies) – 5
In The Back Seat – 5

AVERAGE SONG SCORE: 4.8 out of 5