Funeral

Really good. I remember when this album came out and it was a big deal but I've never listened though some of the songs I've heard. I think wake up is a masterpiece

Very orchestral and well crafted debut alternative album by a great band. Soaring vocals and choruses. Melodic and satisfying.

took me back to middle school, wouldn't put it on again but i did enjoy listening to it

So fuckin full of life

I used to love this album when I was younger, and it is by no means bad at all - but now that I'm revisiting it, I'm realising that beneath all of the passion and grandeur, there's a real lack of substance on a lot of these songs. There's a whole lot of uhs and ahs, and some of the songs are a little corny, while others just don't get as intense as they try to - I think the lead vocal (which is also great at times) and the kinda flat production has a lot to say here. It is very genuine and I appreciate that alot, but the songs are just not quite there. I did really enjoy "Haiti" and "In the Backseat" though, the highs are really high. 7/10

me pareció mas de lo mismo, nada muy memorable la verdad

I liked it was atmospheric in way you want from a indie band like Arcade Fire.

If I had better taste in high schooli think this is what I would have been listening to

Pretty good set of songs. I liked this more than I expected

Nostalgia core + great songs

Seventeen year old Scott is reemerging from his slumber to sadly nod along to Funeral. 38 year old Scott (39 in just over a week) thinks it’s decent enough for a wee Sunday walk by the river. Favourite track: In the Backseat

This is so millennial coded, but I actually vibe with it. The songs feel so spacious and bold, its very moving.

I’ve only seriously cried a handful of times in my life. One of those times wasn’t at an actual funeral, it was while listening to Funeral, particularly In the Back Seat, for the first time. A common trend I see in the reviews here is similar to other albums that sound like a time and place- those who weren’t there don’t get it, and those who were declare the album a work of monumental genius. I was there for the emergence of Arcade Fire, and I can tell you, this was, and remains, brilliant. Imagine a world where music (especially in America) was either boy bands, country music, or Guns and Roses. While clawing for survival, for an expression of individuality in an exceedingly corporate society, you seek desperately for something different, something that feels young and true, something that gives life. Then you find this album. You’re thrown into a world that’s both as dark and cynical as the real one, but which dredges up the hope found in dreams, fantasy, and innocence. These songs became our anthems. In the early 2000’s, we were still on the cusp of the streaming services, so we used archaic devices still, like cds. If you had such an item in your car, you would inevitably listen to the same songs over and over, burning them into your very being. With the freedom of Spotify, we rarely do that anymore, or at least I don’t. Even Arcade Fire’s later albums suffered from the effect of the streamers. I like The Suburbs, but I’ve heard it only a few times, whereas Funeral is a part of the constitution of my very thoughts. So, for the naysayers out there, I’m sorry you’re missing out on the party. Remember, Bowie was a believer. Arcade Fire might not have risen to the status that they did without his help. Regardless, I can see how everything that’s come after, the whole twee indie movement, may have mucked up any new listeners’ possible enjoyment of this. Because, what I first responded to was freshness, and admittedly, this has been copied to death. It also should be said that Win Butler is not always the most clever lyricist. I do always appreciate the sentiment he’s trying to bring forward though.

If the arcade is so fire, how come we're having a funeral instead? If you pretend that joke is funny, then it's actually pretty funny Very listenable, exactly what you might expect

Really don’t understand why people seem to really like this record. It’s fine, but it’s far from great. The lead singer is relatively uninteresting and the songs were not great. Just didn’t move me at all.

Ei jotenki lähtenyt omaan makuun sit ollenkaan. Tuntuu että laulaja ei osannut laulaa enkä ymmärrä hypä tämän takana. Oli vaikeaa kuunnella loppuun asti

Love this album. Brings you on a journey.

FAVORITES: Neighborhood #1(Tunnels) and Une Annés Sans Lumiere OVERALL: Beautifully played, a bit repetitive.

I always think I can't stand these guys for some weird reason, but all their albums I listen to seem pretty great. 5

I've never really gotten into Arcade Fire. I've heard their more popular songs and I think they are fine, but I've never been inspired to listen to anything deeper. So this was my first time listening to a full album of theirs and the first time hearing most of the songs on the album. I have kind of the same feeling I've had for a lot of the albums I've gotten here lately.... it was fine to listen to, but nothing really stood out for me and I don't know that I would seek out listening to it again. I know that Arcade Fire influenced a lot of other bands that followed them and they've been extremely successful over the years, so no problem with this being on the list. It just doesn't really do much for me personally.

Can’t separate my rating from the fact that this album has been in my orbit since it came out. My brother has many stories of seeing Arcade Fire live when they were at their height, on fire, on top of the world. I would never have believed the dark clouds on their horizon with all their critical and popular success in the mid 2000’s. Arcade Fire was THE band of the moment. Listening to this near Kanye’s College Dropout takes me back 20 years. And while their fall hasn’t been anything as dramatic and insane as Kanye’s, it does highlight how fickle fame in the 21 century really is, how craved celebrity and how precarious public opinion. 5 Boolean: True

Not for me, but also can appreciate the musicality. Very 2005.

Used to love this. Not listening to them any more.

Nice album but not really my taste

Not my kind of music, sorry

There are thousands of other bands you could be spending your time with than these people.

❤️‍🔥 it's just a pretty great album 💥neighborhood #1 (tunnels) 💥neighborhood #3 (power out) 💥wake up 💥rebellion (lies)

Found it really boring and his voice is unlistenable. Can't even understand the glowing critical reviews makes no sense to me

Not my style

Loved this album for many years. I almost didn't give this a 5. I felt time had dulled its impact a bit and it was heading for a 4. Then the ending of Rebellion (Lies) kicked in and I was transported back to 2005 when I played this album endlessly and I was reminded what a joyous and beautiful work of art it is! Neighbourhood 1, Wake Up and Crown of Love are the other highlights but the whole thing is just terrific. Such a shame that they've never really hit these heights again (in my opinion, obviously) As a little side note, this is now the third album I have been given in this project (after ACDC and The Who) by a band I have seen live!

Was familiar with Wake Up but hadn't explored their other work. Neighbourhood 1, crown of fire and rebellion were faves but solid throughout

I know this was huge when it came out and the reviews are insanely good (maybe too much), but for me this just feels so early 2000s and doesn't do much. Wake Up is a great song but also so overplayed. This type of sound just doesn't speak to me. That said, I appreciate the concept here and it's not a bad listen at all. I'm glad people find meaning in this. Top Songs: Crown of Love, Wake Up, In the Backseat

this right here is the debut album of canadian indie rock group arcade fire, recorded in about a week at the hotel2tango recording studio in montreal. the project itself was pretty ambitious and changed the indie game in the 2000s; if you couldn't tell from the title, the main theme of the album is loss. the theme was conceptualized after the unfortunate deaths of several members of the group's families. it's always a treat listening to debuts that just blow you away right from the start. there's so much emotion and intricacy in these songs, the production is clean... when it comes to loss and death, it seems like instead of being depressing and quiet, it's more shocked, frazzled and unsure... when family members suddenly pass, you don't know where to go or who to follow for a while, and it's symbolized pretty well throughout the album. it's an album that almost says "oh my god, where do i go from here? someone please tell me". it's not all confusion though, with some of the later tracks in the cd almost sounding like a big powerful push through the darkness... a commanding message to keep walking even when the worst happens. the lyrics are a strong point, and the wide amount of band and chamber-esque techniques only make this album better. moving, theatrical and spacious, this is a very good representation of high quality indie music and high quality music from canada.

Keeps getting better for every listen. I like the fact that it really feels like an album with a build-up and not just some random songs thrown together. Favourites: Rebellion (Lies), Wake Up, Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)

Sounds like the Killers and the Lumineers merged to form a band for people who are too cool to like the Killers and the Lumineers.

This makes The War on Drugs seem innovative and exciting.

Great album. I honestly don't think I'd listened to the whole thing in its entirety before, and now I will again. I especially loved the last track, which I didn't remember hearing before. Gave me chills. Adding it to some playlists now.

There's a reason I rarely listen to anything recorded in this century. Points for being Canadian, though, I guess.

This is one o my quintessential nostalgia albums and i think it holds up quite well

Solid indie rock album. Wake Up always reminds me of the Where the Wild Things Are trailer. This was a good walking album.

Really liked this

Indie rock sounded pretty much exactly like this for 15 years, so I don’t know if I should point the finger at Arcade Fire or look further back. I am inclined to blame Arcade Fire. This has moments of catharsis and cool production, but overall didn’t move me. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this record and I have to say that I really don’t know what all the fuss is about. Again, it has its moments, but it’s too precious and bloodless for me to get down to. Underwhelming.

Rhythm-y background music with some classics sprinkled in

I was deep into this indie sound when this album came out, so this one hit hard for me. I liked it then, and I still like it now. I love the wall of sound. It's a fantastic debut.

I don't get it. But that's true of a lot of indie rock for me. I don't find it particularly interesting or pleasing to the ear. The vocals just sounded like people whining while being one mean comment away from breaking down into tears. That said, I know there's an audience for bands like Arcade Fire, and they're welcome to it. I'll happily sit this one out.

Didn't really care for this so much. Kinda reminded me of The Killers ... but worse. Meh.

This put them on the map for me back playing live on SNL. Good Fire album, before they started to get too "creative"

There’s a lot to admire here. It’s massively ambitious, a sprawling epic of a thing which is far more accomplished than a debut album has any right to be. The songs are beautifully structured and build in huge crescendos….. but….. sometimes the ambition gets in the way and it almost becomes this huge impersonal edifice that doesn’t allow you in easily.

Better than Coldplay

I enjoy the indie flare to it, but it just never grabbed me the way some others did.

sehr geil! right down my alley

One of those where it has all the elements of an amazing album but just really doesn’t land for me

Quite good, not all tracks for me

Favorite songs: Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Une année sans lumière, Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles), Crown of Love, Wake Up, Haïti, Rebellion (Lies)

This is a great album from a band i general don't love. 3-4 bangers mixed with generally decent tunes makes a solid album.

This was really good. It also had the added bonus of hitting the right mood for the day, which is always good. I’ll listen toy this again. 4/5

Everything's an anthem

Fuck yes! v good, some songs are almost incomparably good (Wake Up, Crown of Love) and that bumps the album up Truly though, how is Wake Up so fucking good?? It has never not HIT like jfc

1. neighbor - 1 2. hood - 1 3. lumiere - 1 4. pouuer - 2 5. kettlez - 0 6. crouun - 1 7. uuake - 1 8. haiti - 2 9. rebellion - 1 10. zeat - 2

Good album was surprised by this one.

Listened to it while running. Some nice classic indie songs but some a little generic.

I will not listen to this.

More varied than I gave it credit for on an initial listen. A mixture of pleasantly meandering sections, different tempos, occasional guitar with gusto, plenty to like. I was too new to AF to fully appreciate them the one and only time I saw them at reading festival in my late teens but wish I’d been more in tune with them as it’s decently good music. Not sure the couple of songs where the female vocals led worked as well but that’s probably just personal preference. A salve against a bad run of poor albums.

Slow burn this one and was ready to dismiss this as another dull moan fest.  Actually, upon a more critical listen it did win me over.   The part that engaged me in the end is a depth of sounds embedded in the music.  Yes, it's overly pleasant and safe but it's not without its chaos and feeling. I think this is actually quite a beautiful album that is worthy of having in any collection.  Certainly, times when it lacks energy but it seems to instinctively react to that and shifts gear while remaining on its deft track.  I do like this and after many listens it deserves to be elevated. It saved itself from the beige waste land at the death! The Bjork esk end was cool too.

This is another album that was a university discovery and therefore has special relevance to me. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking that I'd never heard any band quite like them. Arcade Fire create such an expansive and epic sound and have a style of their own, mixing intimate indie vibes and orchestral crescendos. This is also a coherent album with a consistent theme and good flow, which I appreciate. Looking back now I find them a little bit happy-clappy and maybe a tad preachy. There is also a tendency to throw in all the random instruments from the back of the school music department's cupboards. But overall this is a really solid debut album and it was definitely refreshing and unique at the time.

Reminiscent of teenager years

Love love love, any album that mentions my girl Laika is a gem in my book. As someone who experiences anticipatory grief In the Backseat kills me every time. The transition between Haiti and Rebellion (Lies) is so good, it makes me wish the rest was like that.

Overall, very enjoyable. ★★★★

95

Oh this is quite nice! Une Annes Sans Lumiere or Rebellion is my favorite off the album, but probably because they both sound like they could've been a bleachers song. Crown of Love was fun too! A big fan of the piano usage in this album. Great stuff all around. 8/10

At the third time of asking on this list, Arcade Fire deliver

Funeral is a fundamental piece of modern music and paved the way for many with art and folk rock to come. What sets it apart for me is the Canadian influence with the accordion and violin usage, both staple instruments in Quebec culture. The Neighborhood suite also nods to a historic weather event in Canadian history months before my birth. Great art rock record with awesome baroque elements, a definite classic. Favorite Song: Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Score 89/100

Repeat listen

Didn't grab me, but I'm intrigued

**5/5** – I first listened to *Funeral* about five years ago and didn't like it at all. My tastes have expanded quite a bit since then, so I decided to give it another shot, and apparently I was missing a hell of an album. This just kept getting better as it went. The Neighborhood songs are great, with **“Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”** being an absolute banger. **“Wake Up”** is another highlight, but **“Crown of Love”** was the one that really got me. That's a 10/10 song—the build and the way it takes off toward the end is exactly the kind of payoff I love in a song. It's funny how much your taste can change over time. Five years ago this did absolutely nothing for me. Now I'm giving it **5 stars**. One of the biggest turnarounds I've had revisiting an album.

Good album, nothing extraordinary but nothing bad. I enjoyed this band's vibe on the last album on this list. Only problem is a lot of it sounds the same and blends together but still a good quality band and album

Unremarkable. This is the third by Arcade Fire on the list and I'm not half way. I hope we're done. didn't like the first, the second intrigued be a bit, Neon Bible, I think it was, but we're back to 'whatever' territory here. The little jangle of Acadian folk that I caught every now and then is a nice touch, but not enough.

Solid all around album. Some excellent songs that will stand the test of time. Something about it never 100% clicks for me, but I enjoyed it. 4 out of 5.

I loved that album. I think it's great.

This makes me miss how good this band used to be

It didn’t grab me

Not really a big indie rock fan. It was nice listening, but nothing that moved me, made me wanna dance, or would make me choose it over something else to play.

neighborhood 1: fuck this is rough. nails on chalkboard for me. grating. hate the male vocals and overly sentimental. neighborhood 2: this is better. I actually like this one. looking for drawing references to get my hand in shape again. unee amee sans lumiere: fucking boring. neighborhood 3: fine but forgettable. why was this so highly regarded? its absolutely boring. neighborhood 4: holy ass dont even wanna keep doing this honestly. haiti already sounds infintely better because that man is not singing anymore. wow its actually really good i hate win butler so much dude he was actually torturing me.

3 songs I really like, the rest are very mid

i can't fully explain how i feel about this album.  it feels as if it were created in a lab to appeal to me, there are a lot of pieces and parts that i like in other forms and places from other artists, but i have a visceral reaction of dislike for this album and have for years.  i don't feel that a singer has to have a conventional voice, but this voice grates on me.  i would be listening to a track and suddenly the drums would be super abrasive, or the vocals would get tortured with a choir behind them, or like in "crown of love" at the end it shifts into almost a disco mode?  i have a headache now.  i am not adding any of these songs to my library.  2/5

not bad music, just kind of forgettable

Álbum interessante, mas não estaria entre os mais memoráveis da minha vida. 3.5/5

En ole ennen kuullut mutta todella tutun kuuloista yleisellä tasolla. Perushyvää indierokkia.

It’s good but it’s definitely music nerd music. Key changes and harmonies and dynamic arrangements abound, not always because they should but because they can. Still, they turn it into something pretty good for even the layman like myself

Great album! Very good newish one as well!

Epic, emotional, anthemic indie rock. They’ve never been able to get to this level again. (But oh, what a peak it was.)

Great album, I love how they suddenly change the whole vibe in one song. And one song was so much alike to Talking Heads, I'll give 4 for this album.

Not bad! Kind of dreamy

The line that always stuck out to me, which I may even have considered profound at the time, was "we remember our bedrooms and our parents' bedrooms and the bedrooms of our friends." I used to spend so much time in your bedroom and in Paul's bedroom. Bedrooms are places where music is made and where one listened to music in private. Even when this album came out and I bought it off the back of an ecstatic Pitchfork review, I remember most clearly listening to it while I painted my bedroom with Geraldine. My elderly neighbour, Betty, whose bedroom adjoined mine and who could hear everything had been laid up in bed sick for a few months and when she got back to health thanked me for playing guitar in my room, because it gave her some connection to the world - "a tunnel from my window to yours," essentially. But it stuck out, not just because of the facts - adolescents spend time in bedrooms; a certain type of music exists in bedrooms and this music was channelling that music - but because the nature of my relationship to bedrooms was changing. 2004 was in that period when you and I weren't really seeing each other very much. I wasn't recording much with Paul either. I was painting the bedroom with my then-girlfriend, so the world that the music was singing of had a pained nostalgia. Who in their early twenties should be riddled with nostalgia for the recent past? Me. And Win Butler, obviously. Funeral - a overwrought title certainly - acknowledges the narrowing of scope that comes with adult life, the focussing in on one bedroom. Butler's sexual indiscretions suggest he passed through many more bedrooms than I ever did, but there is a point where the bedroom stops being a place in which inner worlds are created and becomes one where the outer world is kept at the threshold. His sexual impropriety seems to me, like a juvenile obfuscation, trying to ignore or avoid something rather than being the creative process of building character that comes with bedroom musicianship or sleepovers or watching b-movies on Paul's tiny TV. In the review of Neon Bible, I think I wrote that Butler struggled to find anything concrete or internal to write about after the success of Funeral. On The Suburbs, he returns to the themes of the debut, which rather suggests that was what he was most comfortable with. Certainly the later albums are a complete mess. Not to hark on his infidelities and predation further, but I can't help but see a connection: he never matured, psychologically, morally, or artistically. I actually returned to Funeral a year before we started this project and was surprised at how thin its arrangements sounded. I remembered a forceful, anthemic sound, but it wasn't quite that. The tinkly sounds sounded tinkly. The handful of arranging tricks, most notably the reliance on a rhythmic uplift at the end of the song, felt cheap and repetitive. The strings buzzed and sawed more often than they played lovely tunes. Very disappointing. As going back always is. However, listening this time, I didn't feel anywhere near so condemnatory. Perhaps that last listening was coloured by something else going on in the world. Funeral is a good record and, while its drum patterns and group singing may have given way to the stomp clap music that would dominate the years that followed, its instrumental variety is still enjoyable. Still, I don't really enjoy the emotional insecurity that Butler revels in. The nostalgic music of my adolescence will always be potent. But music that is nostalgic in itself can actually feel seedy and desperate. Or maybe it is Butler specifically. The nostalgia of 1979 is warm and hopeful, for example. The nostalgia of Neighbourhood #1 is claustrophobic. Perhaps Corgan, at 28, had come out the other side and was handing something back to his younger audience. Butler is in a mire and, it seems, he never got out of it. 3.5 I suppose Arcade Fire are well bate out now. In recent years moral discredit has followed on the heels of musical discredit. I have read some recent accounts of their demise and there is a general sense that they represented a mere fashion which is now extinct. They were cool once and now they are deeply uncool and so we shall hardly hear them mentioned again. Like Hair Metal, perhaps. Well if it is the case that their first album along with the rest of their catalogue is nearly forgotten I can safely predict I’ll be reminding people about it the rest of my life. Funeral is absolutely superb. I’d say I could give a glowing account of every track here if I had to, but I hate to go on when there is anything positive to say, as you know. I will content myself with singling out Crown of Love and recording that I adore this song. 5/5

Absolutely stunning. Didn't know it before, and listened through it so many times in the last days. "Funeral" is so much better than "The Suburbs" which the Generator presented me two days earlier and I'm really glad I still gave this album a proper listen after that. The instrumentation is beautiful, the song structures dare to leave the beaten track, but most importantly, the music on here is so so powerful emotionally. Front to back no filler and exactly the right ratio of variety vs. cohesiveness. If I could change one thing though... the amateurish production doesn't match the superb songs. This has the potential to become one of my all-time favorites. Time will show... 4.5/5 - near perfect

Wow what a nostalgic start to this whole thing. I remember listening to this on my green ipod mini in my year 8 classroom. Shame the guy turned out a dick but also what an era for collage style album covers. I kind of want to use this as a diary but I don't know how to write anymore! This feels like the Wes Anderson movie of music, heavy on the twee but I still vibe with a lot of it. Hard to separate from my teenage self though.

was never all that hot on this despite being heavily into the pitchfork-core of the era growing up. still sounds a bit staid in its grandiosity, and often made me wish i was listening to a different band, but there are some affecting songs here and besides Wake Up i enjoy everything on here in a passive sort of way

The music on this album wasn’t terrible, but the vocals sucked. I’d rate it higher than 2 stars if it were re-recorded with a better vocalist. My guess is that Win Butler owned a van. He agreed to drive the band to gigs if they let him sing, and the rest is history.

NOTE: Long review incoming, but before I start this, I wanna make it clear I do not support Win Butler and I encourage people to educate themselves on his controversy (involving refuted allegations of sexual misconduct) before considering listening to this band. Personally, I still listen to this band as I inherited the CDs from my dad and I only play it from that and local files, giving them bo money whatsoever, and since my dad had the CDs, the band played a part in my childhood creating a sense of nostalgia that isn't replaceable, and I'll get into that later. That out the way, this has been one of my perfect scores on AOTY since I started my account on the site, and I stand by that. This album is a masterpiece of bittersweet, nostalgic, and emotional indie rock, with quite unique and very well thought out use of instrumentation. Today has been a really hard day for personal reasons I won't go into but it's very ironic (and fitting) this album came up today. I'm glad it did in a way, as it's a special album to me and I find it very comforting. Anyway, I honestly have really struggled considering how to review my perfect scores in the past, but recently I've talked about the opposite of this, terrible albums, and how I evaluate music in general with my friend, so I'm going to try and run through the most relevant of those elements (seen as not every style of music has to contain all of these) I mentioned looking for in that conversation with this album, and why they're perfect in this album. Usually I'd say about three of the following example elements from my incomplete and not fully established list makes an album worth listening: progression, originality, textures (including instrumentation, production, and timbres), harmony and melody (chords and whatnot), technicality and difficulty, themes/lyrics/context (less focus on the latter, but it can enhance or ruin an experience), and the emotions in the performances. Originality: I'm going to make this a short one to begin since I can't necessarily be fully sure on this all the time as I haven't listened to everything, but the combination of vocal styles and instrumentation on this album is one of the most unique sounds I've heard in my music journey thus far, save for maybe Ants From Up There, which has named this album as a prominent influence repeatedly. This especially notable considering the ominous "Indie Rock" label here that probably would dissuade me from listening to this if I didn't already like it or whatever. Screw indie poo and its fans, sorry. Harmony and melody: This is a little one I picked up from the semi-decent academic music education I did, and whilst I don't necessarily analyse it, I'd like to say I have something of an ear for when something is using these creatively or not. The main way I think about this in my daily music listening though is through whether they actual feel purposeful and reflective of the music's intentions (as is similar for me with other elements such as instrumentation), especially when there are lyrics. To exemplify this, the opener, Tunnels, is about the bittersweet reflection on a nostalgic childhood that Win misses, so the song sounds fittingly bittersweet through the melodic and harmonic choices. The opening guitar melody is probably my favourite for this. Textures (and instrumentation): One of the most notable features of Arcade Fire's music for me has always been the chamber-pop-style instrumentation, which gives them a really strong, clear sound. However, on top of that, this album has some other interesting features, like the weird high-pitched drones that I can't place what it is on Haiti that goes up and down through the whole thing. On one hand, there's the one that helps in the transition into Rebellion, which I looked into briefly but cannot for the life of me place what it is, and there's also a flute(?) one, that only appears on the first song. These reflect my previous point of "word painting" with these musical elements: their relatively unsettling sounds reflect the background hum of fear that Régine felt as a child in Haïti. I actually studied the country's colonial history as part of my French studies, and it's a really tragic story that has left the country in cycles of poverty and corruption, not to mention the frequent natural distasters ravaging the country, so I can understand why Régine's disturbed childhood inspired such a great (and underrated) song. Straying from my initial example use of the song, now is a good time to mention this is one of the songs that gives me crazy nostalgia - one of my earliest but most vivid memories is being sat "in the backseat" (sorry) of my dad's car whilst he blasted this song and Rebellion (Lies) as we neared the end of what I remember as a late and long drive home, and it just feels like one of those moments from a movie. On top of this, there's also the excellent production of literally everything else. The drums sound on-point in every song, the semi-frequent use of piano and organs are amazing, and the guitar tones are perfect. I really like how the bass in Wake Up uses overdriven power chords to create that heavy, thick sound heard in the intro and throughout. Emotion... : The vocals throughout are flawless. I don't even have words for them. Here are some examples: - Tunnels's opening - Laika - The chanting of "Lies" and the line "Every time you close your eyes" On top of that, I've always found some of the other instruments incredibly emotionally stirring, especially the violin, but the vocals are definitely the stand out. Progression: This one is less immediately obvious element in this album, at least to me, especially you consider the rest of my music taste, what with the post-rock and whatnot, but there are some classic moments in this where the song properly kicks in. However, I think the way the songs on this album use their other elements heavily rely on really intentional structures and progression. Going back to textures, they progress interestingly by using all the different instruments and guitar tones and production techniques cleverly. The emotions of the performances are also important to this, look at Win's vocals in Une Année Sans Lumière: they start soft, and mostly aided by Régine's added harmonies. It's also worth noting the larger scale progressions of the album, beginning with the Neighbourhood suite which contains 4 (or 5 if you count Une Année...) songs all covering themes inspired by the band's upbringings and stuff, mainly inspired by a story from Win's childhood where his town was covered in snow and the power went out, which feels like a really nice but forgiveably slight sonically unrelated set of songs. Then, later on, there's the two songs I've already mentioned, Haïti and Rebellion (Lies) which do a similar thing by packaging two songs with similar inspiration together, but with a really nice transition between songs that form two distinct parts of the same story, which I've already described, leading awkwardly into... Themes/Lyrics/Context: Here's my context. It's 8pm and I haven't had dinner still and I'm starving and I've been writing for nearly an hour and a half. One sitting. I've done 2.5 listens of the album total today. And I've already touched on this. Sorry... I'll maybe come add a detailed analysis sometime soon, but for now, here are some of my favourite lyrics! Also wanted to note I really like the use of French here too, not to glaze but I really like the sound of language after having studied it for most of my life. "And if my parents are crying / Then I'll dig a tunnel from my window to yours" (real... love the weird vibe of this song's lyrics) "Our older brother bit by a Vampire! / For a year we caught his tears in a cup / And now we're gonna make him drink it" (another cool vaguely unsettling line with a dark undertone) "When daddy comes home you always start a fight / So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights" (amazing depiction of childhood memories of domestic disputes) "Time keeps creepin' through the neighborhood / Killing old folks, waking up babies just like we knew it would [...] You can't raise a baby on motor oil" (showcases the terror of the passage of time with our unstable future) "We're just a million little gods causing rain storms / Turning everything good to rust / I guess we'll just have to adjust" (shows the difficulty of growing up with the burden of trauma) "Rien n'arrete nos esprits (nothing can stop our spirits) / Guns can’t kill what soldiers can’t see" (a really inspiring lyric about surviving brutal regimes) "My family tree's losing all its leaves / Crashing towards the driver's seat" (I feel this.) To conclude, this album is really special to me, one that I heard a lot as a kid and one that I rediscovered at a hard time in my music journey as a young teen, and it was very comforting, and it's full of great music too so that's a bonus!

Heard it before but I don't remember it. Now this is exactly the early 00s indie bullshit I could never get into. Boring and even annoying except for maybe one song. I'm glad I'm not a millennial so I didn't have to pretend to like this in 2004. Instead I could focus on rocking out to SOAD whenever their music videos came on tv 2/5

i bought this the day it came out lol

I thought this was just okay. 5.5/10

First half a 3, second half a 4. It’s okay, until it rips.

What a magical, impactful, gorgeous gem of an album this continues to be. It’s truly special.

Good album. Top within their genre. This is not their best, though.

nice band! I never heard about them, I like it!

Fantastic Indie Albums....a lot of textures and great lyrics!!!

Solid

no

Need to hold a wake for my outsized memories of this album.

Good album - hangs together nicely. The music isn't quite right for me though.

ÅÅ den här var jättebra. Detta kan jag genuint lyssna på och stå bakom. Jag är nog en indieman ändå. 8/10!

6,7/10 wkurza patetycznością

Absolutely love this album

Kanske är den aningen mer nertonad och primitivare än Neon bible. Kanske finns här lite bättre låtar. Kanske kan man t.o.m. skönja nåt vackert därinne nån enstaka gång. Men det är i grunden samma överspända cresendopop och den har åldrats väldigt dåligt. Aningen starkare etta än Neon bible, men lik förbannat en solklar etta

Fina melodier. Nervig sång. Hög intensitet. Mer jordnära ljudbild än senare skivor. Crown of love.

Samma sound med ett malande komp, men inte samma klass som Neon bible vi tidigare haft. Saknar låtar som riktigt griper tag. Svag trea.

Crown of Love sticker ut som särskilt bra. Även Une année sans lumière gillar jag. I övrigt är det ok men inte mer. Sången låter ofta lite för tillgjord. Håller nog neon bible som ett bättre album.

good, rich, nuanced, varied. why we fell in love with Arcade Fire in the first place and before the ick of knowing about Win's behaviour overshadowed the beautiful music.

i liked it, good stuff, few songs i would put in my library, but the problem was is that i listened to it as one big youtube video so i couldn’t figure out which song had which name. oops! either way, good start. i was afraid i wouldn’t like it but it was pretty good

I liked the instrumentals. CLASH was the word i would use with strong rumbling rolling sounds. I didnt love the vocals with a drawn twingy pitch that made words difficult to understand, but felt like it suited the album.

Good album, starts amazing, drags a bit in the middle, ends brilliant.

Esta bueno pero se parece demasiado a bowie

pensé que iba a ser una mrd, no es una mrd btw

If the album ends and I’m like “thank god that’s over”… it doesn’t really mean anything for the objective quality but it DOES mean that I didn’t like it

An incredibly solid entry in the indie rock pantheon, and one that gets more rewarding each time you listen to it.

I was so late to Arcade Fire. Instead of listening to them during the 2000s and early 2010s like everyone else, it took until 2023 for me to dive into their discography. But Funeral is perfect. This was actually one of the album discoveries that kept me hooked on exploring new music so that I could find experiences that would click with me just as much as Funeral did. It’s bittersweet, empowering, tragic and just revolutionary for indie music. The Neighborhood tracks are all spectacular, listening to Crown of Love is a surefire way to make me tear up, and songs like Wake Up and Rebellion are just so impressive within the context of the album experience. From start to finish this is a masterpiece. It’s a shame what the band has become in the years since, but we’ll always have those first four amazing records to go back to.

I like it

4/10 Not being much of an indie boy, I didn’t really know what to expect from this. They’re a band that are very highly regarded, and this album is frequently present on best of lists, but it’s not one I’d ever felt drawn to. They were also spoken of highly by David Bowie, which is typically a good sign. Unsurprisingly, then, here really is some decent stuff in here. There’s often a good blend of rich, harmonic content with promising melodies, quality sound design and production, and a very consistent tone of voice, with a clearly defined personality. Sure, there are bits that are a bit more ragged around the edges, with some slightly odd mixing choices, like lead vocals that were almost hidden in the mix, and sounded like they were recorded in corridors, but this is their debut album, and in general, they got the tonal elements of the songs into decent shape. Unfortunately, there were some elements of this record that I just couldn’t deal with. Rhythmically, it’s one of the flattest, dynamically limited releases I’ve ever heard. Given that they have not one, but two drummers, the lack of nuance and range within the rhythms is, frankly, baffling. And it’s not just the drummers either. Frequently there are parts that pound away in straight crotchet patterns for long sequences, and sometimes for full songs, relentlessly and invariably thudding on. It’s so soulless and frequently ruined my listening experience. The funny thing is, I love a lot of electronic and programmed music, so I have no real problem with repetitive rhythms, but there is absolutely no nuance here at all. I’m also not really a big fan of Win Butler’s voice, with him frequently sounding like he’s stretching it beyond its capabilities, but without any particular purpose. I get taking your voice to its breaking point when trying to evoke a particular high or low point in a songs narrative, but here, it just felt like a stylistic choice that didn’t gel with the motional beats of the music. Régine is a far better vocalist and the album would have been far better served had she been given the more prominent vocal role. So it’s a weird one. Is this any good? It has the potential to be, but to me there are too many things that negatively impact on the overall quality of the record, and make me never want to hear it again. So, I suppose its a case of unmet potential more than anything else. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - This isn’t bad. It’s uplifting, anthemic stuff. There’s some good stuff in there, and the vibe and atmosphere of the production is pretty good, but I also think a lot of the base rhythms are very persistent and lacking in dynamic. The piano, for example, just absolutely hammers at crotchet chords for most of the track, and there are sequences when the guitar does a similar thing. Melodically, there’s some nice stuff in the lead vocal, but I’m not 100% sold on his voice just yet either. It’s not a bad start, necessarily, but it’s not really caught fire yet. Neighborhood #2 (Laïka) - The use of polyrhythms in the verses here is really nice, and the instrumental blend is good. The juxtaposition of the clashing guitar against the cleaner acoustic instruments makes for good range. In the choruses, we again have that relentlessly chugging crotchet rhythm that’s dynamically uninteresting and detracts from the fun rhythmic approach to the other sections. And again, the seemingly artificially strained vocal style isn’t really doing it for me. Une Année Sans Lumière - This is much more consistent. The melody works nicely against the harmonic elements and the general blend of instruments works very nicely. It’s still fairly rhythmically unvaried, but there’s a bit more nuance and dynamic to things that helps that to slide by. It gets an injection of pace towards the end that adds an extra bit of range too. Not bad. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - The mix broadens out here, with thinner, more stripped back sections and more full-bodied sections. There is a bit more rhythmic range across the parts, but at its core, it’s still rhythmically one-paced. The drummer must be so fucking bored. The orchestration is pretty broad and the string stuff is nice, including the section where they work in discordant pitch slides. The vocal is a bit too shouty without the intensity in the track not really matching it for me. Again, some of the component parts are good, but it’s just not an entirely satisfying package. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) - This feels like a fairly bland sombre folksy indie track that they’ve inexplicably sampled the string section of an orchestra tuning up and laid it underneath, which just sounds bad. They’re obviously going for a floaty, ethereal sound here, but even on this, they seem remarkably beholden to very flat, relentless crotchet patterns that pound on in the background and make things sound too robotic for such an organic sound palette. When the strings actually play, it’s quite nice, but the rhythm just felt inescapable. Crown Of Love - 1, 2, 3, 4, dum, dum, dum, dum. It’s just relentless. It’s not really a bad song on top of that, and there are some nice moments of melody, with some equally good pieces of work from the strings. Again, I don’t really love his voice, particularly with the rest of the band, because so much of the tonal work is pretty clean and precise, but Win Butler’s vocal style jars against that, at least to my ears. It also sounds like the vocal was recorded from slightly too far away in a corridor. We do get a pick up in pace towards the end, which at least adds a bit of rhythmic variety, but even that is a change that just remains flat for the rest of the track. Wake Up - What’s this? rhythmic range? This is the big song that’s loved by montage makers, and film makers looking for something anthemic to end their middle-of-the-road tv drama with. It’s still fairly unvaried from a rhythmic point of view, but at least it’s more than just that relentless pounding on every beat of the bar. There’s good range harmonic range on this, with the strings and backing vocals adding excellent depth and quality to the piece. The melodic writing is excellent, and as part of the mix here, Win Butler’s vocal works much better. The later half throws in a switch-up of emphasis that’s pretty nice too. This was pretty good, to be fair. Haïti - This is actually a bit better too. It’s very whimsical indie and the slightly distant vocal recording technique is still weird, but I’s day Régine Chassagne is a better vocalist than her husband. The mix is a bit all over the place, with some of what you would expect to be atmospheric pad sounds being very forward in the mix and more melodic elements sitting further back. It’s still got a rhythmic lilt that’s established early and never varies, but it at least has a bit more swing and nuance to it than the flat four stuff from earlier. Rebellion (Lies) - The general musical content of this is pretty good. Some nice melodic moments, some good work from the guitars and backing vocals, and there’s a nice, rolling building sensation to the composition. But why are their rhythms so boring? There’s a lot to this, but it’s almost like they’ve just grabbed a one bar drum sample, looped it and just called it quits before focusing on everything else. It’s so distracting. In The Backseat - It sounds a bit like she’s doing a Björk impression now. It’s a slow burn with a lot of tension that builds and builds as it goes. There’s some nice sound design in there too. But yet again, what does the guitar do when it comes in? Hammer away on a flat four rhythm. It’s just very dynamically flat and rhythmically uninspiring. It’s fucking relentless, and they do it with the strings too. I actually really want to like this, because if they’d added more range to the rhythms, it could be very good, but I find it so oppressive to listen to.

I listened to it once and it left my ears as soon as I finished it

slightly bored over the first couple songs but picks up. This is a really solid and interestingly linked together album. so sonically layered and plenty of real good melodies and anthems throughout. - Rebellion (Lies) - Wake Up - Neighbourhood #3 - Une Annee Sans Lumiere

Melancholic baroque pop richer in sonics than substance, but a solid debut and influential sound

Meh

Pompous very 2004 record, no thanks

Up and down here. Wake Up is awesome, and has been on my playlists for a long time, as well as Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), but the rest of the album struggles to ascent to such heights. I can't decide if it's the overwhelming choiriness at times, or perhaps some lackluster delivery that holds it back.

This was very good. Perfect music for a wander in the summer sun

More like a Dumpster Fire

A 2, but I am dropping it to a 1 because of "Wake Up." I blame that song for the airline "woaahhuhh-oohhhh-aaa-ohhh-uhh-oohhhh..." music that would play at the end of flights in the 2010s.

i went through phases with this album. first, it was cool to like Arcade Fire, then it was cool to hate Arcade Fire, then it was cool to like them again. I listened to this album again when we drew it for the first time in probably ten to fifteen years and found it mostly okay with a couple of standout tracks. i dunno that i'd revisit it again by choice, but i don't hate it so it's probably a high three. it's one of the "big" albums that reminds me of the phase of my life where i jumped on the train called "i hate this band because they're popular"

it played and was on

Definitely some bangers here, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I remembered. I found many of the songs to be very messy from an Audio perspective, like I couldn’t tell what was going on until the instrumentals cleared up. 3.5

I think this is the least enjoyable Arcade Fire album, mostly because of Butler's voice (I'm glad it changed in later albums). There are still some stunning moments across the album.

This just used to do a whole lot more for me. I think Arcade Fire might just have to be one of those bands I totally lose touch with.

Another of those overrated indie bands from the 2000’s. Painful and embarrassing what emasculated white boys will call rock in the new millennia. What they call sensitive sounds sickly and wretched. Stand up, for fuck’s sake! Be men!

Aside from the songs I knew and enjoy, Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies), this is a pretty average listen. Most of it seems to go nowhere and doesn't really appeal to me. I'll give it a 3 purely for the two tracks above, otherwise it's a 2.5.

I like this a bit less than I used to in my 20s, but it's an undeniable 5/5. The Intimacy and escapism of the lyrics, the songwriting, the dense and soaring arrangements, it's all generational stuff.

Excellent!

Very good

Another guitar band that should be right up my alley and they were good but didn’t set me alight wanting more. Will give another album a go.

I remember buying this album on CD. I think i saw them at Glastonbury. I remember seeing them at Brixton Academy shortly after, either 2005 or 2006. I recall going to the wc. When I came out there was a space to the side front of the stage. I watched the gig from the 2nd row, Such an immersive experience 😃

Not for me.

love this, but it ends here

This firggen app is so biased

not for me

Fantastic album, almost everything here is great. Tracks Neighborhood#3(power out), Rebellion(lies) and Wake Up are standout singles

Like every good indie kid in the early 2000s, I ran to hear this album after Pitchfork rated it a 9.7. It was worth the hype. I still find it so moving to this day. “Funeral” was written and recorded soon after the passing of several people the bandmates were close to. It’s an album inspired by, and therefore a great listen for, tough times. But it isn’t sunshine on a rainy day. It’s a loud, dark thunderstorm that you can scream your frustrations to, followed by a rainbow that bursts from the clouds. This is most apparent on my favorite song, “Rebellion (Lies)”. When things are bad, you can choose to distract yourself, or “sleep.”You can dream. You can get away from it all in your mind. In fact, that’s probably the easiest thing to do. But this song warns: “Sleeping is giving in / No matter what the time is…. People say that you’ll die / Faster than without water / But we know it’s just a lie / Scare your son, scare your daughter.” The song builds in intensity and finally explodes at the end with: “Now here’s the sun, it’s alright (Lies! Lies!) Now here’s the moon, it’s alright (Lies! Lies!)” Stay awake. You have to feel your feelings. It’s alright. It’s a cliche to say “the only way out is through,” but that’s the message of this song, and the album as a whole. And with the beautiful compositions on the album, it’s an easier pill to swallow.

It’s got the standard Arcade Fire sound. Maybe if I hit some tracks up individually they might stand out but the whole affair just kind of blends together

I really wanted to be cynical about this one, but I'd forgotten how good it actually is - and it's not really fair to blame them for all the mediocre stomp-clap-woah-oh stuff that came in its wake. Not quite a 5 as it's a little samey, but the high points are excellent.

Favourite Songs: Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)

Na pewno jestem ucieszona z faktu tego, że mogłam odkryć ten album. Niestety kojarzył mi się on z latem 2024 roku, filmem "500 days of Summer". Jego muzyka na pewno mogłaby zagościć w tej produkcji.

좋나좋네요

Perfection. One of the greatest debut albums in the history of rock and roll. I wish they could have sustained that greatness.

it was alright. There are other similar style indie artists I like more (like daughter)

No me gustó mucho. No de mi gusto completamente, tiene canciones interesantes.

Perfect 10 album of anthemic indie rock. To hear this for the first time back in 2004 was exhilarating. The album is still amazing and outshines the music that it inspired (including later Arcade Fire releases).

As baroque pop/art rock goes, Funeral, is a top shelf album full of interesting songs that are well produced and well played. This album strikes the balance between Win Butler’s Bowie fetishism and Regine’s artier tendencies. The Neighborhood Suites occupying the first half are essentially a good warmup for the second half where I think the better songs lie. Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies) and the closer In The Backseat are the best songs on a strong record. A little shine has come off the apple as Win’s personal peccadillos have undeniably derailed Arcade Fire tarnishing their image and apparently damaging the partnership between Win and Regine who divorced. Funeral is perhaps the correct word as the allegations go back as far as this record. Still a solid listening experience. 3.5/5.

I am not that fussed very poppy and not much to it

This album is just a really solid debut but not their best album. Feel how you want about members of the group, but separating the art from the artist, the album is one that is easily accessible if you are open to it. It's not for everyone though. Its kind of that smart indie that either really get and want to hear or don't because it is too indie. I think when this album came out is when I stopped pretending I knew what I was talking about with regards to music. Its the same way I could never understand a book in the same way others do; reading critic reviews just made me hate critics. I decided to just listen to an album and just go off of vibes and friend recommendations. So short story long, there's a bunch of songs I like, a few I don't. Biggest Hit - Wake Up Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - Une Annee Sans Lumiere (Not So) Hidden Gem - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

i didnt like it

I listened to it blind, then listened to a review of it and got some more backstory on its creation, and then I listened to it again. It hit harder the second time.

As always with Arcade Fire, objectively good music with a good number of filler songs but I will probably never actually listen casually. This is their best album for sure though. Highlights: "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)", "Wake Up", "Haiti"

Sea Power without the sauce. What every indie band ever later became, is this patient zero?

Very nice. 3.75/5

Very average music.

for some reason I didn't pay attention to them Will I listen to again: 80%

One of my first favorite albums. I still remember asking my brother what was the name of the song so many times. It was Laika. My first favorite song ever. So it was not such a deal to listen to it or even rate it. The problem begins when trying to listen to it in detail. I still think it's good tho.

decent

Psihoza

8.25/10

Initially gave a review of 3 because I hadn't had time to listen through it before my next album 🫪 But it got significantly better towards the later tracks 🤔

In 2005, I spontaneously relocated to Austin, Tx after an inconvenient hurricane destroyed my world in New Orleans. Oh my, I didn't know what it was about Arcade Fire in Austin, but this album and this band seemed to have an absolute mental grip on every hipster in my apartment complex. (Austin was hipster central so that's a lot of hipsters) I could hear this album in the parking lot from cars, in the laundry room, coming out of windows on pretty days, etc... but I never quite allowed it to take over my own life because there was too much REALLY good music to explore in 2005. Especially local music in ATX. Now, after listening in its entirety, I get it. I'm about 22 years late to the party, but I understand the obsession. This is my third Arcade Fire album and my third 5 stars for the band. Probably my favorite "new" discovery since starting this project is Arcade Fire. I slept on it years ago, but I'm so glad I gave all of it another chance. Absolutely amazing.

Really really dig this, even more so than I did the last time I listened to it a couple months ago, I just love the energy that this specific brand of Canadian indie has, where it seems like you could use anything to make music, whether it's full sweeping string section or improvised percussion

The spiritual roots of Hozier and The Lumineers

It was very good

This is album is fine. Nothing offensive musically, but also nothing that I feel the need to circle back to. Definitely an album.

This is a really good record that I heard a lot at the time of its release, and it still delivers. Unfortunately, it came out that the singer is a likely sex pest and their music never improved, only got worse. So I'll rate this according to the fact that it's their high water mark and maybe the singer wasn't a creep at that point. 3.75*

I've always been curious about AF, didn't know this was their debut album, such a good listen.

This reminds me of the human experience. The constant rhythm of traveling forward with a steady momentum into the next minute. There's an adventurous feel, leaning into the anticipation for what's next. The perfect score to a Dr. Seuss quote, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

this band/album has always left me conflicted. i don't love the voice except when i do. i respect (and enjoy) the way the are able to create catharsis but when they slow it down i am left cold.

Album was OK but a bit like random noise

Nothing wrong with it, but unremarkable. A big deal in Canada I see.

RIP this version of the band. Driving and desperate. This era of indie rock in general has died never to return again.

Possibly just not in the mood

para ser debut, muy bueno pero siento que, dentro de lo indie no es tan raro. es un album que alguien te dice que escucha para quedar inteligente. a pesar de eso, me gusto bastante.

++: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laïka), Une année sans lumière, Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles), Crown of Love, Wake Up, Haiti, Rebellion (Lies) +-: Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), In the Backseat 8,5/10

Oh it's been so long!

Shattered my expectations in all the wrong ways. Painfully boring and the vocalist is so grating. That's not how I remember Arcade Fire in the slightest.

Not as good as it thinks it is

Indie nostalgia

1. 6,5/10 2. 6/10 3. 6/10 4. 7/10 5. 6.5/10 6. 7,5/10 7. 7,5/10 8. 7/10 9. 9/10 10. 8/10 Album 7,15/10

Not heard this or the band before so another new one ticked off. The first track builds up brilliantly and crescendos all through, a very good song to start off with! Second track isn't quite as good but is pretty decent in that indie rock type of way that the lyrics are decent but the vocal melody is more like being talked at. This indie rock flavour continues through a lot of the album. Good solid drums, nice melodies for the backing instruments and a decent number of various instruments but the vocals let the side down. Crown of Love is a centrepiece and has a great tempo change towards the end which breathes new life into the song and the feeling of the album for a bit. Wake up was equally good. This is a perfectly good album, with some good, if not very good songs but none are quite enough to make it onto my favourites list let alone my 5*s. 3.5 stars for perfectly good... Gonna round this one down. 👍 N1 (Tunnels), N3 (Power Out), Crown of Love 👎 N4 (Kettles), Haiti

The first two tracks were off to a bad start. Once the tempos slowed down the songs had more room to breathe found its stride.

Yeah this a great album. Really nice theming, excellent songwriting, and overall just such a warm experience. 9.5/10

I really like this album. I loved it once. It’s fascinating for me with AF. I think this one might be better than Suburbs. And they really are connected. I didn’t realize how much. The fascinating thing is HOW awesome I thought they were the first time I heard them and how ambivalent I feel now. Maybe it’s today, but I thought this was an easy 5… And it’s just a 4. Boolean: still true

I really enjoyed this album ... ended up replaying three or four songs.

This 2000s indie behemoth has a warranted classic status among music aficionados, myself included. It has a slight dip in quality during the midpoint, but the fantastic start and ending make up for it easily. 8/10

Theatre School band trying to be highbrow

Pop/rock music. Different and riffs/music is good but feels a bit sad.

6/10

mejor de lo que me esperaba, bastante bien

This album needs to give the music a chance to breathe. In spots where there could be silence, there's a repetitive tone or an instrument constantly playing an ostinato. Because of this, the vocals get lost among the monotony, and are hard to understand. The melody for the vocals often doesn't change per each line sung. When it does, there's always a background instrument that plays what was previously sung.

Arcade Fire aren’t good enough to have one album on here, and this is my second. When I look at my ratings on this thing overall, indie rock is in my bottom third, which in a sense is surprising because generally I like indie rock. The problem is that the indie albums I get on here are dishwater. Granted, I didn’t listen to this album that closely because honestly I don’t give a shit about this band, but I could swear that the same song appeared on this album three times. Some dweeb is going to say that the recurring motifs are a show of the band’s brilliance; I say it’s because this is a band with limited ideas and none of them are good. We didn’t like it when Nickelback did it, but at least they had the good grace to spread that one not very good song over multiple albums. Not giving that much credit to these hosers even.

Schon nicer Indie. War aber nie mein favourite Album von Arcade Fire 3.5-4/5

An album without any low points or high points, which is somehow worse than a mix of the two. A truly forgetable experience.

I can understand the appeal of this. It wasn't bad and I actually saved a couple of tracks from this album. But is this a life changing listen that deserves the hype? Ehh not really. It sounds a bit like Modest Mouse with an orchestra, which sounds way cooler now that I have typed. It's a little theater kid-y to me, but that doesn't ruin the whole thing, just takes me out of it a bit. I saw some people criticizing it for its earnestness, which is stupid. Doing away with earnest music is one of the greatest tragedies of our musical era. But it does walk the Millennial-Burger-Restaurant line a little too close for comfort at times. 3 stars.

I actually really enjoyed this album. The sounds, lyrics, vocals, everything. It was a surprisingly good album and I’d like to listen to more of the artist.

Me toco el alma, fue una linda experiencia que en principio la sentí muy depresiva pero yo creo que en otro momento de mi vida será un sonido al que voy a querer volver a recurrir.

Okay album

Really? I don’t get it?

There is always something to look forward to in records by Arcade Fire. Good one. Favorite track: wake up other picks: tunnels, rebellion, in the backseat

I think I would need to be in the right mood for this to hit. Generally, not something I'm going to just throw on

Bombastic theatre kid indie perfection.

Really really like this, but on the edge of a 4.5 and uncertain whether to bump up or down, I think comparing to the last album I’ll have to give a 5

This my first experience with this band but I love the sound. I hear influences of 80s bands from Depeche Mode to Talking Heads. Each song has some surprise instrument, phrasing, or chord progression. I'm so glad to have heard this album - it's now part of my mellow gaming playlist.

Definitely NOT my style.

This was fine. I see the appeal of it to others but only the odd song really tickled my brain.

Pretty typical modern alt-pop-indie rock for the decade.

Even though I liked the material on the second half of the album, this is something that definitely did not meet expectations.

I feel pity for people who don’t love this album as much as I do.

This album really makes evident how different consuming music was back in the day. I’m pretty sure I owned this; I actually don’t like a bulk of the songs on this album. But back when it came out, Arcade Fire was the “it” indie band and as someone really into the music scene of course I had to get it. Aside from Neighborhood #3, Wake Up, and Rebellion, the songs are whiny, grating, and frankly pretty annoying. (3)

I’m not sure why this band grates - the B-grade Springsteen indie anthems, the annoying affected vocals, or maybe the pretentious song names. Whatever it is I didn’t get it at the time and still don’t get it now.

so incredibly mid

Está chulo pero me cuesta entrar en esta onda desde el '26. Merece pegarle otra vuelta en algún momento.

INDIE ROCK. DEVO FATICARE UN PO' PER ENTRARCI, MA PER QUESTO HO INIZIATO QUESTA CHALLENGE E DA QUALCHE PARTE BISOGNA PARTIRE. TONO MALINCONICO CHE MI PIACE INSIEME ALLA METAFORA RICORRENTE DEGLI OCCHI CHIUSI. 2 CANZONI MI HANNO COLPITO: REBELLION, UNA DELLE PIU' PIMPANTI E FAMOSE, E NEIGHBOURHOOD#4, LA MENO FAMOSA, CHE PARLA DEL TEMPO IN UN MODO CHE MI GARBA. 3/5

it was good

Great band with a great album - I should listen to these guys more.

Fuck man I know they are kinda corny but I love this album. They get that nostalgia of growing up so right. "Wake Up" is in my top 5 songs all time. Fuck Win Butler. 9/10

1004 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

This is perfectly cromulent music. I don't love Arcade Fire and I think all their songs sound mostly the same, but this is just fine. Just naming half the songs on the album Neighborhood #__ is a silly affectation which is pretty much what I think of Arcade Fire. Crown of Love is the best song so far. Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies) are the big songs from the album. I think I like Haiti the best though. This is the best Arcade Fire album. The back half of the album is better. That was a more important distinction when there were album sides.

Felt boring

please god no. not another arcade fire album. is the debut better than “neon bible“? well, it seems catchier. i honestly cannot remember a thing about “neon bible” and it was less than two weeks ago. but i don’t understand the hype. i didn’t understand it while it was happening and i don’t understand it now. what was it that was resonating with people to make it such a big success? i think other, better bands were doing this much more successfully musical. matt pond pa for example. but i guess they didn’t have a violin player?

actually pretty good

guapo, aunque fue a menos, pero tiene temones; seré benevolente

It was fine -- I wish I had been listening more carefully to the lyrics

fun indie rock album and with upbeat emotional storytelling, 6.3/10

Often when I'm listening to Arcade Fire, I find myself actively trying to convince myself that I like Win Butler's voice...so not always the most enjoyable experience. This is definitely a fun listen with several songs already in my rotation prior to today. However, in my opinion, anyone describing this album as "triumphant" is drinking a little bit of AF Kool-Aid. There's definitely a generation of people who go crazy for this band, but that's not me. Favorite tracks: Neighborhood #2 (Laika), Rebellion (Lies)

Man fuck these guys lol. If there's a fourth album from these indie Bono wannabees I'm going to Van Gogh an ear off. This is no worse than the other couple Arcade Fire albums (which recieved a 2), it's just the third fucking one.

I just spent four days smoking five packs a day because of the wildfires and this album is the worst thing I can think of to ever come out of Canada

I think the most surprising part of the album was the overwhelmingly positive critical reception. It's definitely not offensive, but it feels like on the see saw of creative vs safe, they leaned more heavily on the safe side. It's a fucking crime that we have 3 of these albums and only 1 for contemporaries like Gorillaz, the Black Keys or Queens of the Stone Age or 0 for Tame Impala or Tyler the Creator

I wasn't really impressed by this.

3.7/5

Do people consider this ambitious? There are a lot of layers but I actually find it kind of bland and tame. There's no bite. I also don't particularly like the vocals, they're a bit weak and whiny There are some parts I enjoy, like the second half Une Annee Sans Lumiere which reminded me more of British indie of the time. Neighbourhood #3 is pretty good, I like the grander sound that that one goes for Didn't really enjoy this and probably won't come back to it 2.5 Highlights: Neighbourhood #3

slay, thoroughly enjoyed this second album i’ve gotten from this band. hell yeah

i know this album better than the back of my hand

Bang average 00s indie

The singer has a delivery that mixes Morrissey's incessant whining with the type of self importance that never allowed me to fully embrace Bono. But Bono had a great tone and excellent songs. This vocalist is just a non-starter for me. It wouldn't matter if the band was amazing (but they aren't). The keyboard work in particular is even more pretentious sounding than the vocals. I'm sad to read that they are a Canadian band. I usually like Canadian bands. At least the record jacket is cool. I just read that Pitchfork gave it a 9.7. That doesn't surprise me. Just like Rolling Stone in the late 60s, they like to occasionally assert their influence by taking a terrible album and pumping it up (RS review of the unlistenable VU and Nico album being a good example). What is worse is when they pan a great album just to stroke their own egos. It's like people who say they hate The Beatles. This one gets a 2 out of 5.

you are not immune to early 2000s indie & alternative

J’étais sous lsd c’était génial

not my style but ok

I’ve listened to this one a few times before and I really like it! Not life-changing by any means but a really solid listen.

I am not a millennial, but I do love this album from start to finish. It's a shame their lead singer is a creep. Too many problematic men are given the spotlight.

This is the third Arcade Fire album I have had on this list. Again, they're a fine band, but that much seems like overrepresentation. I mean, Gorillaz have got one album, just one! And Arcade Fire have three? Get out of here. I picked Gorillaz as a comparison over other bands because I think they have been operating in the same timeframe, but also compared to Arcade Firem their style has evolved significantly between albums, their presentation and lore is innovative and unusual, and they are, I think, a LOT more popular. I don't even like Gorillaz that much, I just think the editors of this list might actually have brain damage with these choices, or maybe they have a massive bribe from Arcade Fire in their back pockets As expected, I liked this album fine. My guess is it was included for having Wake Up on it, which WOOOAAHHHH-OOOHHHHH-OOOHHH-OOHHH I recognised instantly. But also the album as a whole sounded a lot like the other two albums of theirs I heard, the Suburbs and Neon Bible. I would drop it (or The Suburbs) in a heartbeat for any of Gorillaz' Demon Days, Plastic Beach, or The Mountain. Or, actually, any of a bunch of other albums from significant and influential artists who need to be on this list more. Sorry, Arcade Fire, sometimes this project wears me down and I have to rant a bit. You're doing good.

Arcade Fire's first three albums really changed the course of indie music, and it started here. Lush and romantic, I can see why this this the favorite of many fans. The highs are incredible, and while I do prefer the "just decent" tracks more on their next two records, Funeral is too important to ignore.

It was ok

Whilst I have listened to Neon Bible and The Suburbs a lot I do not think I ever went back to listen to the Funeral so hearing most of this album fresh. Without the familiarity or prior listening the album feels a little one dimensional and dour. Fortunately I do like the dimension they are in so I did enjoy it.

Had heard a couple of the tracks, generally felt the Arcade Fire hype didn't match the songs. I really liked Suburbs as an album, but hadn't listened to this one before. Took a couple of listens to get into it, but actually like it. Pretty impressive for a debut.

Well. this one was quite the roller coaster. I guess if I expected anything, that would be just about it. I'm not loving what I presume is a stylistic choice to lower the audio quality of the vocals in some of the tracks. Perhaps it's a me thing, but it just makes it extremely difficult to discern what is actually being said here. It essentially detracts from the excellent quality music that the foggy voice is being imposed over the top of. But this was only really a problem on the first two of the tracks. The rest - they're great. Instruments, voice, tempo, tone. Everything came straight from the heart in these tracks. Would I listen again: To the whole thing? probably not. But to individual tracks? Yep. There's five here that are going on my "new favourites" playlist, so that's a pretty solid performance.

So let’s start from the baseline. If I’d seen this album cover when it first came out, I certainly would have picked it up to take a look. That’s quite a quill on display there. I like what I’m hearing at the start here. There’s a nice mix of instruments here, and the lo-fi quality of everything actually works well. And as the album progresses, I’m actually liking this a lot. Something about the sonic landscape here speaks to me, and the first half of the album, the ‘Neighborhood’ suite, feels somehow… I want to say the genre here is ‘melancholy folk horror,’ by the end. We’ll just burn all the old folks, ok. The album starts out with something like a weird if sweet love song, then goes way off the rails. I don’t even know what the story with Laika is, and by the end of the suite, we’re burning old folks and witches. And yet, somehow, it resonates with me, makes me smile, makes me want to hear more from this band. Maybe it’s the fact that it opened up with talking about snow when the weather is actually too damn hot outside. The second half of the album opens with a really weird, like… high school breakup song? that turns into a violin disco beat at the end for no apparent reason. There’s this weird running theme of childhood’s end working through the whole album, along with, at least in the second half, an odd tendency for the genre of the instrumentation to change about four minutes into the songs, and a lot of death theming. So that explains the album title, mhm. I don’t know that I’m going to listen to this album again. I wouldn’t say no, it’s not *unpleasant*, but the overall theming feels like it needs a specific mindset to come into it. I *am* liking the band, however, and look forward to hearing more from them. 8.5/10.

It's well-made music that sounds nice overall, but I dunno if it's totally my vibe. The album has a great midway track in Wake Up (used in probably a thousand movie trailers and soundtracks), but the rest of the album doesn't wow me. I can't give it below a 3, but I struggle to justify giving it a 4.

I don't get this Album at all. There is some decent songwriting Here but the vocals and mixing in General Ruins it for me.

i used to love this album. i had it on vinyl and gifted it to a friend when they got their first record player. i think its a mix of listening too it far to often in a short period of time plus numerous accusations of sexual misconduct with frontman Win Butler that sour this revisit. it’s corny music but still catchy

1. This track is just angelic, perfect intro 2. Peak, the melody makes me almost tear up, I didn't have a clue that I loved indie rock so much 3. Chill track, peak melody again, cool dynamics toward the end 4. THE START IS SO GOOD WTF 5. My kettle just got done boiling water at the beginning lol, great melody and lyrics (HOLY SHIT JUST REALIZED ITS CALLED "KETTLES" I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE NOISE IN THE BEGINNING) 6. So beautiful (HOLY FUCKING SWITCHUP IN THE LAST MINUTE!?!??!?) 7. GREAT fucking main beat and backing vocals, HOLY EMOTION IN THE MAIN VOCALS AROUND 2:40 "I guess we'll just have to adjust" AND A SWITCHUP AGAIN??? 8. Absolute cinema, didn't expect the female voice to be the main one, the rhodes are so angelic as well brooo 9. HOLY FUCKING TRANSITION FROM HAITI !!!! I close my eyes 😌 10. HOLY VOICE !!!!! Peak.

me transmite un poco esa melanconia que lei sobre lo que es el disco, pero nunca hubiera pensado que tenia que ver con un funeral real, no me trasmite esa tristeza, o longing ? nose. es un 2.5, pero como me gusto el sonido voy por el 3

Really really good

Stadium indie. A bit portentous, perhaps, but I like the depth of tone the excess instrumentation gave

Teilweise ein bisschen zu gezwungen Deep, teilweise aber spannender Sound (klingt für mich aber auch manchmal einfach nur wie modest mouse lol)

It was enjoyable. I didn’t spend enough time to decode it or understand what are the references and lineage of this album. I think with more context, I would give it a much more detailed and enthusiastic review. Sounds really interesting tho from my two listens

Pre Listen: Never heard of them, but I like the album cover. No expectations. Notable Tracks: Haiti - My favorite track, I love the intro. I wish this female vocalist was featured on every track, I would've liked the album a lot more if that had been the case. In the Backseat - Another highlight. Again, the woman singing is leaps and bounds better than the male vocalist. Post Listen: Another album I'm filing under Millennial Rock, and one where the lead vocalist really drags the whole experience down 90% of the time. I defined Millennial Rock under a different review of mine as "really boring, but never really bad per say. It's characterized by smoother, low tempo beats, lots of ooo-ing and aaa-ing, and the occasional piano or other classic-adjacent instrument." I'm gonna use that describe every one of these types of albums, as I feel the exact same way. What's noteworthy on this one is how much I hated the regular male vocalist. Bro needs to either let out the tears, or go to therapy, sick of this wishy-washy inbetween whining. Unimpressive, sleepy sounding corporate schlock. 2/5.

Really good. I’ve listened to a pinch of Arcade Fire before so I was pretty excited about this one, it’s defensively an artist I’m not surprised I like. To my surprise I didn’t like the big track of the album Wake Up all that much — it felt too mall music-y. I’ve heard Rebellion (Lies) quite a few times and it is as good as ever.

It is a low bpm album which I like. I feel like this is also an album that needs multiple listens for me to not only like it but also find songs that I like in it. It was nice to listen to but nothing memorable for now Review - 6/10

un buen álbum para el camino

Interesante. Nunca me puse atención a esta banda

Win Butler has made a career of singing about neighborhoods and phones bad. This is one of the good ones about neighborhoods. He has also been in a lot of NBA celebrity all-star games. He is good at that. He is bad at saying phone bad.

Mám to v aute na usb kľúči a keď to príde na rad, tak si to vypočujem. Ale cielene ich nepočúvam.

i liked it quite a lot, would listen to again

The drama!!! Wasn’t bad though and kind of grew on me the more I listened

In the initial songs I liked the sound but not the lyrics. Towards the end I actually really enjoyed it and have saved it to my new album discovery playlist. Might look into more of their work.

Odd one this. Sounds like something that should be likeable, but yet adds up to less than the sum of its parts. A bit too earnest. Round myself paying no attention to the lyrics. Just.. meh.

I quite like a handful of the tracks but I find most of the tremulous vocals grating.

Tried to listen a few time but it just kind of fades into the background. Weird.

One of my favourite albums from the early noughties

I found this album to be kind of a downer and depressing. It is not something I would listen to again; however, musically it was okay.

Quite fun and tbh a great emotional and lush ride while being vibey. 7-8

It's a fine album. Not my favourite genre of music, but I can respect it.

Some rough edges near the beginning, but some beautiful tracks, nice vocals and instrumentation. saved 7/10 initially. see my full notebook review.

Some classics but over all - meh

Really good. Fuck you, Win Butler.

Ok album.

as good as this music gets

Gillar deras nya bättre, mer refined, detta basic? Lite meh