Funeral

It took a little while for this one to fully register with me, and even now, I have to be in a very specific mood to gravitate towards Funeral over other records in my collection (the first 1001 entry I've had which I own on vinyl, as of writing). However, when such an opportunity comes around, this is a sobering listening experience, conceptually focussed on themes of death and the loss of childhood innocence as a result (thanks Wikipedia, I'm not feeling particularly free-thinking this morning). The album encompasses a wide range of emotions which ensue from the grieving process - denial, resentment, acceptance and a sense of emptiness after the fact. Sonically, there is ample variety on offer and there are bountiful layers of depth to unpack - an indie rock album at its core, but with some artsy, chamber-esque nuances accentuating it. Win Butler's swooning, at times warbly vocals initially proved an obstacle in which I had to navigate, but I've since grown to appreciate them as a fine accompaniment to the album, oozing with believability.

I love wake up! Great song. But I don't know that this album deserves to be on there outside of that song. Perhaps rebellion as well?

While I've heard all of these songs, I don't know if I've listened to the album front to back before now. Really solid.

Caught me by surprise, this was awesome! I could see myself editing this down the road and giving it the full 5 stars once I'm more familiar with all the songs. Not once did I think of skipping a track or feel antsy for it to be over. Beautiful.

Listened in the truck via YouTube music. Of their albums (other that We and Pink Elephant) I’ve listened to this one all the way through the least. This has some of their biggest songs, and after listening again, the rest of the tracks are great as well. I wonder how much Will was a part of their sound now that he’s left the band.

Superb!

9/10 Great album. The cover very well portrays how the album sounds. After a single listen I'm not certain what the concept is though I will certainly revisit because it is very good. Reminds me of BCNR

The album is an alternative masterpiece if I’m being honest. The drums, the guitar, the singer!! They are all soooooo good!! I wasn’t sure what this album would sound like, and I can safely say that it was really good! Not perfect, but great!

Pretty great, though I prefer Neon Bible

This is probably the last indie/alternative type album I really loved before I became fully formed as a hateful curmudgeon. One star off for reminding me of the last tiny glimpses of hope.

Rating (1-5): ✩✩✩✩ Will I be listening to this again: I will What do I like about it: I might change this one at some point, I didn' have much time... What I dislike about it: Idk Higlighted songs: Some of them hahah

Just quickly: I am with EJR here: 20 albums (for me) so far and only one woman in that run, but we are getting a second Arcade Fire record. Admittedly, it is an incredible record: aching, longing, mourning, aging, feeling (a lot). Reminder that songs aren't nouns but verbs. But meanwhile Aretha, Joni, Madonna, Lucinda, Diana, Stevie, Billie, Nina, Chrissie, Tina and so many more need some space in the algorithm.

While still great… not as good as I remember. Maybe it’s just the vibe that so many artists copied after this to a much worse extent has kind of worn on me.

Love this one! Contemporary masterpiece with no skips. Rebellion (Lies) is an absolute banger of a song. Crown of Love always get me.

Not my kind of album. Really good overall tho

Uno de los mejores álbumes del siglo XXI y, probablemente, el mejor de 2004. El debut de Arcade Fire es su mejor álbum y también el que tiene su mejor canción: Rebellion (Lies). Una especie de indie, a ratos más rock, a ratos más pop, que resulta fresco y que combina a la perfección la calidad musical con el hecho de ser asequible para cualquier tipo de oyente. Una joya que recomendaría a todo el mundo. Y además, ¡Qué guapa es la portada!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Win Butler is a complete prick but him and his bandmates know how to put out solid albums.

i love it

Better than I expected. I'd listen again.

I like this album overall—definitely had a few tracks like “Rebellion” on repeat back when it came out. The lyrics are strong and capture that early 2000s feeling of emotional shift, like in Garden State—grappling with loss, change, and a fading sense of innocence. I don’t listen to a ton of indie rock these days, but the nostalgia it delivers is undeniable.

Great album!

New, eclectic, brilliant. Knocked me out the first time I heard it.

Regine is a wonderful singer, but I am deducting approximately 0.6 stars for her trying to be Bjork on "In The Backseat"

Fajn

Intro is insane. I love the kind of buildup all the way through. I also enjoy the calm bit of production on the third track. The fourth I love the end explosion with the tempo becoming faster. I LOVE crown of love, especially the switch and the lead vocalists voice. The outro was very good too. Overall I'd rate the album a solid 8/10. Consistent throughout.

The power, epicness, and emotion of the best songs here really carry it into greatness. I'm talking about "Tunnels, "Power Out," "Wake Up," and "Rebellion" These songs hit me hard and evoke genuine emotion with their beauty. The rest of the songs range from Good, to skip, but the greatness of those mentioned above overshine them all by leaps and bounds. Great album.

Interesting

I hadn't heard this album for ages! Great album.

Nostalgia galore! Not sure if I should feel sad! Treading between dreamy and sleepy!

Pretty good first half but a super strong finish. Maybe I see the hype now.

Power out is a highlight, great energy and rhythm. Lovely vocal melodies and powerful rhythm work throughout. Some lulls prevent it being 5 stars.

Enjoyed this when it came out and it still holds up.

4.2 - Know this album really well and it's still great. Hard to be subjective with this as it has a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in it

Cool

There were a few songs that felt like they bled together a little bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed the variety, instrumentation, and lyrics in this album. Favorite songs: Neighborhood #2 & #4, Une Annee Sans Lumiere, Crown of Love, Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies), In the Backseat

Wake up is a banger

I'd only heard of the Band name name before, but I knew nothing about them. I'm enjoying this; it has this kind of ethereal melodic flow going. It also work pretty cohesively

Liked some songs but not all. 4/5 :)

Alright actually

Emotional, theatrical, and sweeping. It’s grand without being overblown, and the energy feels raw and real. A strong halfway marker.

one of the greatest albums of indie music.

I've never been a diehard AF guy but everytime I listen to this one I really enjoy it! Sorry!

yea sorry but this was a certified crying on the floor album for me . love this bugger but honestly i think i outgrew it and this band is so despicable on so many levels LOL

Wow, that's educated me, immensely talented band clearly, terrific sound, wonderful songs, great intensity, beautiful delivery 👌

No private session used for Spotify. I have listened to this album in the past and I do like it. It's got a lot going on as far as instrumentation, tempo and key changes. Bit dramatic, but it works.

Pretty nice vibes.

8/10

Rebellion (Lies) = amazing.

Classic 2000s indie music. Different than some of the other stuff out there and I liked it

Shorter, sharper and more varied than The Suburbs. A strong album .

Solid indie alt rock record. Helped define the indie aesthetic in that decade.

I really liked the sound of this one. My standout would be Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels). I love the use of violin in that one, and the lyrics spoke to me in a weird way.

Riese Fan vode Produktion, super abgmischt. D Lieder hend mich immer wieder überrascht mit interessante Entwicklige und sind generell sehr abwechsligsrich. I gwüssne chamer mega in klang itauche, bi andere hingege chamer richtig abga. "Une année sans lumière" het mier glaubs am beste gfalle, aber die vier "Neighborhood"-Songs sind au mega nice. Definitiv es Album wonich irgendwenn wieder mal lose wird.

Fantastic anthemic indie debut

Weird coming at this from knowing the suburbs incredibly well, I guess quite a lot of people would say that this is their best album, its definitely better than Neon Bible, but also worse than the suburbs. I like that its more creative/less traditional than the suburbs, with the distortion and experimentation on the vocals. Synths are also really good, guitars too. I think Arcade Fire are amazing at a certain type of feeling in songs, which is quite hard to describe, but quite close to nostalgia. Favourite songs: all except maybe the first one. Overall around 8/10

Not as good as Neon Bible (the only other I heard) but still a cool project. The thing that brings it down for me is I didn’t like the sound that this one has as much as I liked NB’s. My isssues with this one are that the tracklisting was a little bit over the place and sometimes I could barely understand what was being said (though that might be my AirPods) which is problematic when you are listening to a concept album, which this is. and the first half of the album was a little choppy. But the saving factor was that the 2nd half was really awesome. Despite those complaints, to me this is a good album. Just a little bit flawed sadly. Favorite Tracks: Wake Up, Haiti, In The Backseat, and Rebellion (Lies)

What is this

It was sick.

Not too bad.

Damn near perfect album, only thing that takes it down to a 4 is "Rebellion." Just not my cup of tea.

4.5. I like this one. Will listen to again.

16/1001 Solid album, not the peak of its era & genre but able to hang at the big kids table. I honestly liked the single and more pop stuff better overall, but the rest of the album was good. This isn’t really a full 4 star album, maybe closer to a 3.5 but rounding up because 3 seems too far off.

Very good music really enjoyed the overlaying harmonies and many instruments chosen, a bit sad for my liking though

I really liked this album. I have heard of this band before, but I never listened to them until now. I enjoyed all the songs and rock.

4 Stars (11/15)

An extra star from me for being half of a concept album.

It was fine. I'm not a huge fan of this style of music. Rock mostly feels bland to me. It didn't draw me in. However, I can see how this was elevated and a higher quality version of this type of music. 4/5

I liked this one. The mixing of French into a couple of the songs was a good nod to their heritage and origins. The theming between the songs flowed well.

Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels): i love this so much, this might be my new favorite song 4.8/5 Neighbourhood #2 (Laika): this might be an album full of unskipable songs, i love this song 5/5 Une année sans lumière: it’s a bit like a very chill interlude, but i love the end of it very much 3.2/5 Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out): i’m a big fan of shouting in songs, and i like the lyrics 3.4/5 Neighbourhood #4 (7 Kettles): i love the instrumentals and the vibe of this song, i just don’t know what it means 3.7/5 Crown of Love: the change of rhythm surprised me, i love the background vocals and the lyrics 3.8/5 Wake Up: i love the lyrics of this song so very much, but i have to listen to this when I’m sadder 3.9/5 Haiti: it’s one of those songs where the lyrics are crushing but you don’t notice it when you just listen to it 4.1/5 Rebellion (Lies): love how it blends with Haiti, but it’s a bit repetitive for me, has a fire instrumental tho 3.2/5 In the Backseat: i like it, i don’t know why tho… i just like it, it’s nice i like it 4.3/5

7.5/10. Great album by a great band.

There are plethora of interesting elements in this album. Tempo swift from 3/4 to 4/4, layered accordions/choirs/strings, modal shifts etc. I like some depth of an album, and I also like that they don’t fixate on death. But I’ll have to say.. I’m very picky about vocal performance.. and their primitive voice does affect the enjoyment a bit 😂 5 stars for the album, and -1 for vocals.

I was familiar with Wake Up and Rebellion before giving this album a listen from front to back. I didn’t necessarily get the reasoning behind naming a bunch of tracks the same thing but I also didn’t read into it. Chill rock and folk vibes that made for a really enjoyable experience. I’ll definitely be checking this one out again and might do a deeper dive into Arcade Fire in the future.

This is a band I had never heard of before with a full string section and I am pretty sure I heard a French Horn. I feel like it is a bit of the Cranberries meets Belle and Sebastian but whatever it is ... I like it!

cool instrumentals i fw heavy! but the vocals arent really my thing. negligible for the cool instruments

The second half of this one really gets rolling. I’m more a fan of their later albums though.

This album is pure nostalgia, I immediately rated this 5* because I got so excited that one of my fave albums was served up to me as soon as I embarked on this 1001 journey. I then came to quickly regret giving it 5* as it isn't a 5* album, and am thrilled to have found the edit function. I will however give it 4* with the caveat that this was a time and a place and I still think this is an excellent album but I'm aware that it holds a special place in my heart, therefore inflating the rating perhaps.

It's pretty good, im not personally a fan of the Wake Up song though.

This was a neat album. I never dug into Arcade Fire that much before, but maybe I should.

Solid album that helped establish AF as indie gold. I prefer their next two to this one, but still a great listen throughout.

Interessante! Poi famosissima 'Rebellion' (sigla di otto e mezzo?)

I think this is a good album, but not their best. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5

Bonne musique de Noël. Prod un peu bizarre qui réussit pas à traduire toute l'énergie que le band projette. Y manque un range de fréquences, typique d'une prod lo-fi, qui contraste avec l'effet over the top général. Ça pourrait être plus puissant, à la place c'est fatiguant. Jamais vu live; je crois tous les gens qui me disent que c'est meilleur. 1 minute de moins à chaque toune et l’album aurait une durée parfaite. Un gros 3.5 arrondi.

I have never doubted this much between 4 and 5 stars, but the album just isn't that for me. Great though!

Goed album! Niet hun beste, maar echt wel degelijk. 3.5

Good album, does better at higher volumes!

Damn. Insanely good. I kind of hate when things are theatrical for the sake of it, but this album earns its melodrama, everyone is bringing their A game. This deserves to be hailed as an indie masterpiece

I dunno it was kinda giving good vibes. Good for you!

A bit mild but pleasant

This album is so 2000s, though mostly in a good way. I really enjoyed it up through track seven (Wake Up, Walter Mitty song) but then it lost a lot of steam and I thought it got a lot less interesting. I can clearly see how influential this would be in 2004 when all the indie rock was getting big. It felt like I was watching Juno. At first I was leaning to a 4.25 or strong 4, but after the ending and thinking about it I'm at a 3.75. Standouts: Neighborhood #3, Wake Up Rating: 3.75/5

Another banger from Arcade Fire. I definitely liked better than Neon Bible and this is probably a 4.5 for me. Going to 4 as the theme of the album seems to repeat itself.

Funeral is an album that i really enjoyed. I never really heard too much of Arcade Fire, all i have really known about them is that a lot of music critics praise them as if they are the second coming of Jesus Christ. I don't think that this album is perfect but i still do really like it. The instrumentation is on point and works well with every song no matter what instrument they pick and the melodies are always interesting and changing which makes a lot of the longer songs not very tedious at all. I think that the vocals could be clearer but they are still quite serviceable. I don't praise this album as much as all those music critics but i can still see why it gets so much praise. Best Song: Rebellion (Lies) Worst Song: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

It’s been a long time since I listened to this album. I always kinda liked it. I like some of the later album is a little bit better than this though.

Un disco que parece hecho en la década posterior. Las voces no me convencen del todo pero toda la producción y el relato general me dan ganas de usar como soundtrack de caminata. Wake Up, un gran tema. Voy a ser generoso como antes: 3.8 y pongo 4.

This is the first album I've been given that I've already listened to. It's been a while since I've listened to this, so this is a great excuse for me to do so. I love this album, it's great.

I enjoyed listening to this album, sounds like music that’d be in the end credits of a movie

Introspective and a very interesting way. Wouldve liked to hear some different sounds but they are in a good groove

Certainly a (if not THE) classic (indie) rock album of the early 2000s. Very much the sound of my early-to-mid-20s, so probably gets a bit of a nostalgia bump from me. Neighborhood #2 and Wake Up were pretty much revelations to me back then.

What I've learned from the first 50 albums on this list is that, given a few listens, I pretty much like anything and everything, so long as it's not racist I'm-so-hard-done-by shouting, or the drivel written by Stevie Wonder post 1980. It's taken 3 goes (one being a 'proper' listen sat on a plane) to enjoy Funeral but I got there. Maybe if I had more time then everything would be 4+

Really fun album I would listen to this on my own.

Very catchy. Like the other sings better than the singles. Will listen again

Favourite Track: Tunnels, Wake Up Honourable Mentions: In the Backseat A very cohesive album with enough variety to keep things interesting throughout. I've loved The Suburbs for sometime now, so I was excited to jump into Funeral. It definitely took awhile to grow on me, mostly because I'm not a fan of Win Butler's vocals. The rich instrumentation makes up for it though. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) is definitely a standout opener - the way it builds from the gentle piano intro into the full band arrangement really sets the tone for the whole album. Overall, this album is captures the themes of childhood, coming-of-age, and loss so well with the use of crescendos, gradual build, and emotional progression.

Indie rock is a genre that's just fundamentally not for me. I don't like simplistic music, and unless it's something rhythmically complex (like post-rock or totalism), it tends to be boring. Funeral, however, despite its melancholic tone, doesn't have a single boring song. I can't say what separates it from the competition—maybe it's the chamber music elements, maybe the amount of passion its performed with, or something else—but what I do know is that Funeral is a great album. I can't say I'm exactly impressed by anything here, but it's still an incredibly engaging listen with its fair share of bangers. It's what I would've liked all calm music to be—an easy listen that still manages to stay fun despite its relaxing nature.

Sounds about indie rock circa 2001. More Radiohead than killers

This took me 3 separate listens over the span of ten years to finally 'get it' It has to be because I got into Black Country New Road, and they always cite this album as inspiration. Now I can see where they are coming from.

I liked it, but I'm kinda done with Arcade Fire Albums - I've done about 4 already and I just can't believe that SO much of their music was so influential that every album they've released merits a space in this list

Cool!

I can't tell if I yearn for the 2000s, this warped and romanticized version of a decade I hardly even have memories of, or if I would rather just not be in the 2020s anymore. Grab a plate: throw in lush instrumentals, a dark and snowy Canadian evening, plenty of early adulthood anxiety and confusion, hazy recollections of times long gone, immeasurable grief and pain, all sprinkled with some classic early 2000s melancholy, and you've got a pretty good, moving debut record. Also, bilingual lyrics are and will always be so fucking cool. Allez Quebec French! Favorite tracks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Un année sans lumiére, Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles), Haiti, Rebellion (Lies).

I like the general vibe. Nothing stands out, but I enjoyed the overall album.

This is just fantastic

Decent Rock album with barely no skips unless I feel like the song goes on for too long Favorites- Crown of Love, in the backseat, une annee sans lumiere, neighborhood 3 Least favorites- neighborhood 1

Liked this quite a bit actually, production was good and I think I’ll revisit it

Not as good as Neon Bible, but still banging.

Really enjoyable. Worldly sound. Nice instrumental variety and composition. Would listen to whole album again.

I heard of many people praising this album and have listened to it before, and although I like it, it is not a 5/5 album for me. There is certainly nothing wrong with it; musically it is up my alley (Although Neignorhood #4 (7 Kettles) eventually got pretty boring) and it has some awesome lyrics, but it did not sound all that special to me - there is just something missing for me that keeps it from a perfect score. Favourite tracks: Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Wake Up, In the Backseat

super nice! love arcade fire

Very good Voice to low for me though

Man I wore this album out in college. Still my go-to for a snowy day, but not really a place in my life anymore. Back half not as good as the remarkable first half, and the twee shit that ruined the brains of my arts compatriots in 2005 is now mostly annoying to me, but I still am a fan.

It does get repetitive but it is a really solid album. Good harmonies and instrument choices. It's got a charm to it and for a debut album, it's wildly well put together. If it was further into their career I may bump it down one, but it performs really well; if I hadn't ever heard of this band and heard this album when they were new I'd keep an eye out for their second.

belo cd

One of those unique albums which arrived and really made an impact. It seemed like the culmination of years of crafting and building up to a bands crowning moment...and yet it was a debut release. Astonishing.

Day 27: Funeral - Arcade Fire. Arcade Fire Album 1/3. When I listened to Arcade Fire for the first time, I was disappointed. I expected them to be a metal band. Their name gave me the same vibe that the names of the bands Dream Theater, DragonForce, Nightwish, etc. gave me. However, that is not to say that Arcade Fire is bad because of that. In fact, I'd say the opposite. This album feels like a symphonic opera. The vocals are very powerful, and the instrumentation is very satisfying. Among the three Arcade Fire albums in the generator, my favourite one is Neon Bible, but this album is also really nice. This album has a lot of depth. Despite it being a debut album, it feels like Arcade Fire has decades worth of experience. This is something that I'd expect from a band that's been around since the 1980's. Sadly, Neon Bible and The Suburbs have both been removed from other editions of "1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". I sincerely hope that this album doesn't suffer a similar fate. I'd rather listen to Arcade Fire than Kid Rock. Personal Enjoyment: 4/5. How Much It Belongs Here: 5/5.

Hadn't heard of this until now but having listened I really liked it. At times I thought I could detect hints of Talking Heads and even a little Kasabian. Good listen overall. Well produced album

I had a good review about generations of strife and the pain of continually being let down and doing it wrong, but it deleted. Oh well thus resonated because of when I was born

What a maximalist indie darling. Lots of nostalgia from high school days. Favorites are Neighborhood #3 and Wake Up.

Early 2000s indie rock gets +1 star. Solid album, didn’t blow me away with its greatness but in my old school Pandora radio days I wouldn’t have skipped any songs on this album.

Surprising 4

Good rock album, atmospheric at times. Stand-out: Une année sans lumière

I rented this album from the library in 2004 as a teenager! But I never got into it, so maybe this is my chance to actually love it. The opening of the record is really strong with "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" I love the driving piano and the Robert Smith-esque vocals. After the second song, I sort of feel like maybe I was too young to "get" it....even though I had a very indie music obsessed teenage years (it was so good then! Postal Service! The Shins! Belle and Sebby!). I really enjoy "Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" and how it builds up and goes back down, adding the violin, it's great. "Crown of Love" was great, even though I don't usually like songs where someone is begging for forgiveness...is that true? Idk. Okay. Fuck it. I'm saving this album in my library. The indie rock loving betch in me loves this. I wonder what would have happened had I gave this album the fair shake it deserved all the way in 2004. Would have I been to like five billion Arcade Fire concerts? Side note, the song about Haiti made me cry as a person who was descended from people that came from another island and relocated to Montreal.

lovely album. i enjoyed the clash of the more hard and more delicate sounds

Great listen. Would definitely listen again and recommend to people I like

I loved it when it came out (and I am born 69), and I still like it. There are some great and memorable moments in this, but it potentially has withered in time due to too many equals to follow.

The album might be better than any of its individual songs. Heavy Springsteen influence. Good vibe

My car that I've been driving since 2010 still has a 6 CD disc changer in it, which is rarely used anymore but every once in a while the mood strikes me and I'll flip off my phone and over to that. This album has been in slot 2 for almost that whole time, and I'll still gladly listen to it all the way through with no skips.

Pleasant, but somewhat lacking. I enjoyed the instrumentals, but felt like they stepped just a bit too far back away from their mics at times. Overall, the album felt cohesive. I could see myself revisiting this one, as it was a good vibe. It's also enough that I'm curious to explore Arcade Fire's catalogue. 'In the Backseat' was my personal fave.

Interesante

Emotional dramatic rock. Has a kinetic energy to it. At the same time, there are melancholic tracks. Loved the second half more. The four song run from the anthemic 'Wake up' to the emotional closer 'In the Backseat' was so good. It's always a pleasure to listen to this album once or twice an year. Pefect mix of rock's energy and melancholy.

I like the melody in the first song. It’s very hopeful and curious sounding. In “Une Annee sans lumiere” I like the upbeat turn at around 2:45, kinda surprised me in a good way.

fire album

I think this is a modern classic. Bringing big, gothic, orchestral music that swells and hums with emotion. Coming back to it just reinforces this

Neighborhood 1: 9/10 Neighborhood 2: 6/10 Une Annee Sans: 8/10 (really liked the soft vocals and instrumental, but I felt the ending was really unnecessary[would be a 9 /10]) Neighborhood 3: 8/10( disliked the song at first but it quickly grew on me, low end is also really good) Neighborhood 4: 5/10 weakest song so far Crown of Love: 7/10 Wake up: 8/10 aside from the intro nothing really stood out, and i really dislike the two songs in one thing the song did) Haiti: 5.5/10 great song im just not gonna listen to it ever again rebellion(LIES)7/10 intro was great, rest was ok In the backseat 9/10 really love this one( but please stop giving me blue balls with the distortion, I need more!!!!!!) Greatest on here yet

Very good album, just two songs I didn't like at all, the end song being one of those. Probably would have gave 5 if it ended strong

Me gusta Arcade

Never the biggest fan of the band but this album works by being more than sum of its parts.

Their best? Probably. Some phenomenal tunes, a truly great album. Mid to high fours.

This was a pleasant album that was just a nice thing to sit down and relax with. I wouldn't say it really had me that hooked, but I think it's one that I could really enjoy, had I been fully in the mood for it. It strikes me as a "wandering on a trail on a cold day" type of album, and my average Tuesday work day didn't really fit that environment. I will say that Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) was a standout for me though - it's a banger that absolutely cuts through the quieter tracks either end of it. I may well come back to this record. Favourite: Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Interesting to hear similarities to stereophonic

It's funny I remember when this album came out and "not getting it". I hadnt mastered the patient listen yet, and it took me two more albums before I gave them a second try. I remember after their second album they sold out Madison Square for a week and being blown away so next time they toured I had to see them. That was it. Wake up is obviously the best song on this lp but seeing it live 10 years later was borderline life changing 😂 i still contend they didn't peak for a few albums but there's a lot more gems than I thought when it came out. Crown of love was my favorite that I didn't know.

3.5/5; The first half of the album was just kinda ok. Not bad but nothing special. However the second half really picked up and was more enjoyable. Crown of Love was really good.

Just recently got into Arcade Fire. This album is solid. I think Neon Bible is better. It’s definitely not for everyone though.

Coincidentally, the best parts of this album coincided with the peak of my high. Critics make this band seem so so so pretentious but the actual music here is really good.

Excellent debut album.

hardly got a chance to listen to it. But from what I heard, I really liked it.

It was pretty great. Idk if it’s 100% something I’ll come back to but I get the hype

pretty good. insane instrumentals. great lyrics. so much layer and variation it creates a beautiful droning at times. yeah. loved it.

I’m at a 4 right now, but I get the album’s hype, and I really think this could be a 5 in the future for me. I’m trying to place myself in the year 2004, because I really think this album is a little bit of a prisoner of the moment. To have graduated high school in 2004 means to be born in 1986 – to have lived mainly through the Clinton years, with parents living mostly in perceived economic prosperity, seemingly no major wars, and the illusion of harmony. By the time you get up to that age though, where it all starts to crack a little bit by 2000, before completely shattering by 9/11 and the subsequent fallout… that’s where this album lies. The point where the illusion of prosperity cracks, and the grim reality of adulthood sets in. This is not a politically driven album, but it is a coming of age album, and all of those events feel crucial to understanding the mindset of listeners and critics at the time, and at the end of the decade. My closest analogue is saying “this album feels like American Idiot if Green Day had played it straight,” and that might sound weird, but it just feels that way to me. What’s here is done with a bit more… not necessarily “sincerity”, but it’s more easily digestible (& arguably more relatable) when it’s wrapped up in the vibes of a 1980s coming of age ensemble film full of realistic introspection than Green Day’s take on a rock opera concept album full of imagination & indignation. Does that make it better? Eh, taste is subjective at that point – I preferred American Idiot to this, but I understand the appeal here. All of that said, these reviews are supposed to be about the music, and that’s where this album currently lands at a 4 for me – I have been agonizing trying to figure out exactly why this album isn’t at a 5 for me right now, because it really does click on a lot of my musical sensibilities. The writing is great, the instrumentals are usually pretty good, and ultimately I think the ambition and bombast here is incredibly admirable, especially for an indie rock band’s first ever album. This has 5 written all over it, but I’m just not there. The only explanation I can come up with is that I don’t feel like I grew up with the sense of broken adventure and shattered innocence this album tries so deeply to invoke. In the most basic sense of the word, no matter how hard I’m trying to step into those shoes, I simply cannot relate to the core of the lyricism at hand here. Without that connection, the album doesn’t work as well – sure, sometimes there are production choices in the mixing I disagree with, and some songs fall kinda flat at times for me, but none of that is an indictment on the album’s quality. This is a good album. Like, really good. But it’s tailor-made for a generation I’m not a part of, and experiences I simply missed out on, perhaps caused by too much cheery bright-eyed optimism when I was younger. It kills me that I feel like I missed the boat here. Like I said, this could (& probably will) be a 5 for me in the future, but I have to feel all of this firsthand before it gets there. For now, this is at a 4, but it’s a highly, highly recommended 4.

Great buildups & vocals

Album was a nice and easy listen. Doesnt change the world in 2024 but can see how this would have been ground breaking twenty years ago. Favorite track is probably Neighborhood #3 (Power out) Would listen again. Good music to have in the background at work.

At its peak, this is a fantastic album, and much of it is spent at said peak. Unfortunately there are a couple of songs that's bring it down. After the Neighborhood run at the start, only Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies) are really too tier. I also found the last song to be unnecessary and leaves me not haply at the end. Overall though, great album that I will definitely be listening to in parts atleast.

7/10

“Wake Up” is probably in my top 20 songs of all time. I really like the rest of the album too. 4.5/5

A fine recording with lots of great tunes

A group that have made a lot of songs I like which I think is due to their sound, they just make music that appeals to my ears. This is an album I’ve always liked and revisited from time to time but more recent listens have just been certain songs I think I prefer. So probably the first time in a long time that I listened to the whole album in one go. What surprised me most is that I liked more songs than I realised. As a whole album it works well with all the songs connecting and bringing something to it. A bonus is that there are some really good songs that stand out on their own, such as Lies and Power Out. Wasn’t expecting to find this album in this list but really glad it made it in.

I bought this album back in the day on the strength of a couple of good tracks. It never really did much to me at the time, and I am pretty sure I have not listened to it since then. Really glad I got to listen to it again in detail. It is a strong album with no duds. I love the way the songs build up to a crashing crescendo. Wake up is an excellent track, and it could do with a few more catchy songs like that.

Peak Indie....

There was a time where Arcade Fire was my absolute favorite band. They’re still up there, but I think their legacy has been tarnished by lackluster releases over the last decade and of course Win Butler, the center of the group, being outed as a creep at best and a sexual criminal at worst. But I still hold so much love for the band’s first four albums (yes, I’m a Reflektor defender, there are dozens of us!), including Funeral. That said, I was never one to glaze this one like a lot of people do, probably because I got into AF with The Suburbs, a more ambitiously written and produced album that sounds about 10,000 times better than their debut. Does that make Funeral bad? No, but its production has aged noticeably worse than many other records that hold such acclaim. That would be fine if all the songs were peak Butler songwriting, but I think he was still finding his groove. “In the Backseat,” “Crown of Love,” and maaaaaaybe “Neighborhood #4” are weak points in the band’s larger discography, even if I go through waves where I find them really good. No such waves today. But the good songs? Holy shit. The one two punch of “Haiti” into “Rebellion (Lies)” may still be the best sequencing in any AF record, and heavy hitters like “Neighborhood #1” and “Wake Up” still stir up some childlike wonder within me. Arcade Fire started strong here, but don’t believe people when they say they peaked with Funeral. I’ll defend The Suburbs til I DIE, and Neon Bible is honestly underrated in the grand scheme of things. Still, really good album here.

Pretty good overall. Very chill.

I have heard this album once or twice before. Two of the songs on here were absolutely massive when this album came out. You heard both of them everywhere and certainly started to get that played out feeling when they would come on. Even with that it is hard to deny that this group is extremely talented and their music is very emotional and gripping. I think they might be the pioneers of yelling with a bit of reverb indie music. 8/10

More fire

Favorite Track: Haiti

This is a solid record. I don't think it's Arcade Fire's best though. I think The Suburbs is their best. Overall this album hits hard but there are a couple of songs that just don't really do it for me so I would put this one at a 4.

Really like Arcade Fire. Some big tunes on here, Wake Up and Rebellion (Lies). Perhaps needed a couple more justify a fiver though. Simpsons: No

I feel like if I had listened to this whilst at home, it would be a solid 3. However, on a nice slow sunny run, it really fit the vibe and I enjoyed it.

This is what I love about this project. This is the sort of album with universal acclaim that I've put off listening to because it's "not my thing", but I enjoyed the vast majority of this album, especially towards the latter half

Set fjóra fimm á þetta. Mjög gott en hlustaði of mikið á þetta á sínum.

Yeah, I liked this an ok amount. I listened to in on a Friday, but I can't remember much about it now that it's Monday. To be fair on my part I had a bit of a rough weekend. I'll probably give it one more go around. Ok. I came back and I really liked it. The whine and melodrama of the songs just speak to me.

This is a great record. I think not entirely a 'favourite', and I think I maybe still struggle to totally understand Arcade Fire like the 'real' fans do... still I think this is a really interesting listen and something I would be happy to put on again any time. Incidentally, being from Canada and knowing a bit about 'the scene' at the time, it's also made me a bit angry that Arcade Fire gets so much credit when a contemporary Broken Social Scene seems to largely be missed. At roughly the same time that Funeral was released, Broken Social Scene did an eponymous release that IMHO is actually substantially better though drawing on the same energy and spirit.

Tortured bombast, the epitome of the aughties

Wow another arcade fire. So wish there was some better other Canadian rock representation on this list. Great debut album!

Nice 🚬👌

Listened to Funeral quite a bit a decade or so ago. Coming back to it is kind of wild. There's so much of this album that inspired some of the most annoying indie music of the late 00s and early 10s. The self-important melancholy, the millennial vocalizing, it's all there. Arcade Fire does it much better than those who would follow in their footsteps though. Funeral is still a charming listen even though I don't hold it in as high regard as I did back in the day. *Heard before

GOOD.

Half great songs, half I can't really remember

This album was huge for me when it came out 20(!!!) years ago. I definitely have not listened to it in a long time, but it's incredibly connected to a specific time and place for me. Really enjoyed revisiting the album, and it's a force for sure.

I like Arcade Fire a lot. Might be in my top 10 bands of the 2000s, but while this album is very good (4 stars), it's not great. Two very good songs, and the rest are simply good, but "the rest are simply good" doesn't typically make a 5 star album (though there are exceptions, e.g., Back in Black).

Really conflicted on this one. Seriously over-indulgent studio band with a healthy dose of pretentious philosophising. When you watch them live they spend half the gig changing instruments just to play the most rudimentary melodies. And it irks me tremendously. But this album, for whatever reason, is one that I just like. The songs are all really solid, the studio extravagances are concealed from my gaze and actually produce some evocative music. A really influential album (both positively and negatively), and one which I just have to resign myself to liking. It’s really really good. There, I said it. Next.

A dynamic, driving indie/art-rock classic that holds up to the high praise it's received over the years

I feel like I need to add the preamble that Win Butler’s alleged sexually abusive behavior clouds arcade fire a bit for me. I have to remember there are other members of the band and their contribution should not be brought down with those allegations. This album holds a special place for me. It landed on my iPod in my early 20s, when I was post-college and somewhat adrift. The themes about the pains of growing up resonated with me. “Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up”. The big sounds and the energy, paired with their sensitive nature are appealing. This album has some great tracks, but also some moments I tune out for, like the bjork-esque outro.

Good stuff 3.8

ALEXANDER!!! OUR OLDER BROTHER!!!! i have not listened to this in years lol. it IS good and clearly ushered in a whole new sound that i think ended up defining the mainstream alt pop/folk-adjacent scene of the mid-2000s*, but i personally don’t like it as much as the suburbs so it gets docked points for that. on some songs it leans a little bit too far into stomp clap hey territory… nevertheless, the one-two punch of “rebellion (lies)” to “in the backseat” still knocks the wind out of me the way it did when i was a teenager. i love that triumphant grandiosity—when it works, it really works in a way that’s almost overwhelming. fav tracks: neighborhood #1 (tunnels); neighborhood #2 (laika); rebellion (lies); in the backseat [i seriously forgot how good this song is…i can tell i’m going to be obsessed with it for the next month or so…] *i feel like this combined with wilco’s yankee hotel foxtrot is the platonic ideal of mid-2000s alt pop, with funeral being slightly more interesting musically. and sufjan’s illinois i suppose…

Some actually good indie music! 4.4 stars

Definitely preferred this to Neon Bible

Loved it, great for a mellow morning commute

alright

Classic that still holds up.

Arcade Fire is a blindspot for me, so Wake Up was the only track from this that I knew. The album lived up to its reputation for me, and I really loved the instrumentation and general sound. I found the lyrics a little hard to discern at times, but I will definitely be revisiting this/exploring more of their discography

The album that made the Montreal indie scene global. Shaped the genre for a new generation and spawned many collective/ensemble bands. Great debut album but better was to come. Forgiving some of Win’s consensual but inappropriate indulgences with the female fan base.

Lots of drama and emotional vulnerabilty, which one never found quite fully credible or compelling in the real time of its release. The song cycle and concept seem a bitter oversold; honestly they don't feel essential to one's enjoyment. There are plenty of powerful hooks and compelling moments whether or not they are meant to be part of some multi-layered, cinematic narrative. \"Une Annee\" and \"Wake Up\" (the way they build to the singalong feels refreshingly bold and sorta old-school) are very good. It's hard not to admire the effort and commitment and passion, which too much pop music (and indie rock especially) trades too cheaply for ironic detachment. For all its intensity, one somehow fails to connect fully, as the whole is just a tick less than the sum of its parts. One supposes emo on a grand scale is still emo, with all that genre's limitations and vulnerabilities. Still, this holds up well, sounding both relevant and durable. The considerable (and obvious) ambition is largely fulfilled, and one feels they achieved the level of recognition the music merited.

tell me you're french canadian without telling me you're french canadian

I didn’t have a good day today. I played the first half of the album in the morning, went out for a walk to clear my head, then came home and had a very upsetting conversation with a loved one. I then resumed Funeral where I left off, to the lyrics of “the pains of love, and they keep blowing, in my heart, there's flowers growing, on the grave of our old love”. How apt.

An album I never choose to listen to but always love listening to it. 4.3

Oei. Dit waren die lui die dat andere album in de kerk hadden opgenomen toch? Ach ja, buiten het geluid was dat wel een aardig album. Kom maar door. Ook dit album begint best met een eigen klank / sfeer. Het is gelukkig niet zo doorgeschoten als bij het andere album. Even later herken ik ineens iets. Power Out met veel meer een festivalgeluid. Het breekt wel mooi in het album, zonder echt ver weg te stappen van de sfeer. Ze schieten vaker binnen hun sfeertje meerdere kanten op. Dat is toch wel fijn. Al met al een album dat niet per se schreeuwt om opgezet te worden. Maar wel makkelijk aan blijft staan.

Great melodies and emotive lyrics

Pretty good.

Yoooo, shit is fire

Har sett Arcade Fire live en gång. Det var bra. Skivan är bra rakt igenom. Bra sång och musik som man kan återkomma till. Blir en stark 4a.

Jag kommer nog aldrig helt att kunna omfamna den här typen av indiesound med oren ljudbild och för lågt mixad lite gällt gnyende sång. Med det sagt så är ändå det här en riktigt bra skiva, och det är främst några låtar i början som lider av nyss nämnda problematik. Hög nivå rakt igenom!

- Ok, they got me. - Hab mir in der Zwischenzeit nochmal Suburbs reingezogen und würde, dass jetzt ebenfalls höher bewerten. - Was für eine vielseitige und kreative Truppe, dabei so tiefgründig und wiedererkennbar. Es gefällt mir wirklich sehr, dass sie mir jetzt gefallen. - Trotz riesen banger, fand ich Neon Bible noch ein bisschen geiler; es ist alles insgesamt aber jedenfalls wesentlich enger zusammengerückt. 4,25/5

Straight eld

A tender good Indie Rock album for one of the bands that knew how to do it best since their inception. It has one of my favorite songs of all time and some other great songs to remember. Not much more to say.

Didn’t hit quite the same as it did 18 years ago, but still pretty good.

Great album. Something about Arcade Fire reminds me of Talking Heads (maybe just the vocals), but the melodies are much more interesting. I ended up liking 4 of the tracks: Tunnels, Power Out, Wake Up, and In the Back Seat. I guess the only notable thing is that I didn't specifically mark Rebellion, which is like the second biggest song by plays. But really the whole album it pretty awesome.

This would be a five but for the fact that Win Butler is fucking gross.

Funeral is like a journey through memory. It's full of raw emotion and warmth, with a vibe that reminds me a bit of Talking Heads. There's something comforting about it, even when it’s a little sad.

I remember this album coming out. At the time I thought it was fine, but I never really went back to it. Coming it at it again 20 years later, it's clear that it's a much more interesting album than I gave it credit for.

8.2

Maximalist millennial indie rock lead by the voice of skinny jeans, a nasal yelp that's powerfully belted out despite seemingly being unable to fill the diaphragm. Very distinctive and weirdly affecting. This debut album is their best work; they hadn't turned their sound into the arena filling formula yet and so there's a vitality and urgency to the songs and performances here. I always passively liked but was never the biggest fan of this band and haven't really enjoyed their subsequent work much despite dutifully giving it a listen, so I thought this would've aged bably, but damn this album is very good, actually way better than I remember. The sound is so massive it's like they've build a runaway train they're struggling to wrangle back into control, and it's exciting to listen to them do it. On Wake Up they make such a big engulfing noise and have such massive simple sing along chorus, inviting you to join the choir, its got a transcendent religious feeling to it. Rebellion moves the melody to the strings, which combines with the propulsive rhythm that just keeps going to induce a similar feeling being washed along into a larger collective being. Shame the album ends on kind of a dud.

That's a very fancy pen on the album cover. It's quite ambitious for a debut album. I'm guessing they worked on this for a few years. It's interesting that to me, Arcade Fire sounds like nothing else, and this is a good thing. The song structures and instrumentation are so different, along with Win Butler's vocal stylings. Liked songs added: - Wake Up - In The Backseat

Never listened to the album before, and I wasn’t familiar with many of the songs—but I’ll be listening again. Cool that it exploded without a major label; I like those stories. Baroque pop with punk energy—like Springsteen orchestrated by a haunted marching band in Montreal.

good!

Also good. I think its charming and catchy.

Listening to this while on a constitutional made for a mellow accompaniment. It's interesting enough to hold your attention but not so much as to hold you to it. I think this group is a fine example of indie rock, maybe my favorite that we've heard yet.

This would have been a 5-star album at some point in my life, but I just can't give it that many. It's clearly a 4.5, but that rating isn't available.

Love Arcade Fire! The one album I haven't listened to much but will again

4.4

This is a really great album - I enjoy this very much, and this album is my favourite from Arcade Fire

Wow, stupendous! I guess I had just not given Arcade Fire a proper chance when this first came out.

Arcade Fire has shown up as often as Kate Bush (I'm playing catch up) but I haven't ended up disliking them yet! I'll listen again

Their best work... other than the EP that preceded this. They fell off after this record.

Thoughts before listening: I remember when this was released in my final year of college. I was starting to transition my listening a bit from the punk and jamband world into more indie rock music, and Arcade Fire was at the forefront of that movement. This album was huge for those of us who were into that sound. I haven't listened in a long time, but I know that I will enjoy revisiting today. Review: What always drew me to this album was that it felt like a bridge from the punk rock of my youth to more mature music. I could hear a punk and emo influence in the general energy of a lot of these songs, but with more interesting instrumentation, themes, and song structures. There are some absolute anthems on this album that came to define the sound of the 00s i.e. "Wake Up" and "Rebellion (Lies)". I have never had the chance to see Arcade Fire live, but the videos always look like a great time, as these songs seem tailor made for massive group shout alongs. Definitely a fun listen that gets 4-stars.

Listen to this twice. First time I thought it was fine, but seemed like something I might like more if I heard it again. That turned out to be the case. Some of it sounded similar to their later stuff that I’m more familiar with. I really like the final song on the album.

It’s quite a pleasant album to listen as a whole. The highlight would be indeed the 7th song, Wake Up, that reminds me of the U2’s Vertigo Tour, but the whole album has a distinctive sound and that makes it stand out.

The album is really fine, not particularly something I'd listen to most days, but it's entirely solid. The thing is I had a completely different idea over Arcade Fire, qnd this project made me give them a chance and went ahead and... now I'm wondering what else I cast aside for thinking I wasn't the public

Not bad at all?

such a brilliant classic. and they get better from here!

One of the best bands of the 21st century and this is just their debut album. Every song is a banger.

I recently listened to Arcade Fire's whole discography, and I still had to give this a couple listens. This is a great indie album. Lots of great songs on here, and really has more of a live album sound/feel than a studio album, which makes me want to see them live. There's a few misses in there that keep it from pulling a 5/5, but it's a solid 4.5/5

It blows my mind how many singles off this album got heavy radio play for the better part of a decade. I wish I could go back to 2004 and listen to it fresh, I think it would have been a much different experience. It was still a beautiful and layered album that gripped me the whole way through and gave the very familiar songs new context.

A good listen - forgot how much I enjoy arcade fire

I think this is my favourite AF album. Holds the narrative and sonic structure pretty consistently and Wake Up is the best song they’ve made in my opinion. 4.1

Neighborhood 2 & 3 🔥

3.5/5

Some good songs in there and no real bad ones

heerlijke sound

I loved this album when it came out, because it was so different. A few songs on it still hold up (Rebellion and Wake Up in particular) but overall, I don’t find myself as compelled by it as I used to be. Still like it a lot, even if it’s not quite the desert island album I used to think it was.

Great album. Starts a tiny bit slow honestly but I was never disinterested. The second half of the album absolutely crushed and then ending had me wanting to throw the record back on! Shame it took me a while to listen to this. 8.7/10

This is the A24 coming of age film of indie rock music!

It’s all good in the neighborhood

Ajmo se opet s ovim suočit

It's good, not much to add.

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)- pretty good; nice beat and progression; worth a relisten Neighborhood #2 (Laika)- pretty good; not as good as #1, but pretty close Une Annee Sans Lumiere- sweet sounding; alright Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)- ish; little angsty Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)- ish; little to no progression Crown of Love- ish; basic Wake Up- ish; all these songs are starting to sound the same Haiti- ish; I can't take this much longer Rebellion (Lies)- pretty good; nice bass and beat In the Backseat- okay; little to no progression Overall- I had high hopes for this album. I was thoroughly disappointed. There were only a couple songs I liked, those being Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Neighborhood #2 (Laika), and Rebellion (Lies). The rest of the songs were a blur. After a while, they all started to sound the same and I became bored listening to this album. 2/5 Edit: I take back everything I said

Хороший неоднобразный альбом, качает тебя из стороны в сторону, целиком звучит как саундтрек к фильму с завязкой основными действиями и развязкой. Вызвал эмоции такие, что не хочется переслушивать

I like it. Good variation too.

I'll give it a 4. Some nostalgia. But over all great album with a thematic concept. Plus being Canadian and all that. Loses some of the luster with the latest Butler allegations.

Genuinely love this album and Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) is one of my favorite songs. It’s a shame the lead singer is such a shit bag.

It’s been some time and the monumental „funeral“ got some cracks that even the dramatic biografy of the record’s creation cannot fill.

pleasant

Solid

This is a really solid and well produced album. You can tell they put a lot of thought and effort into each song. My only gripe is that some songs are a bit on the forgettable side. Other than those few, really solid. 4/5.

Ok

Funeral changed the trajectory of indie music in many ways. I’ve loved this album for a long time, but it’s lost a bit of its luster for me over time.

Really liked the "Neighborhood" songs I also really like how Haiti transitions into Rebellion (Lies)

I probably liked this more after seeing them live then when I tried listening before seeing them.

Favourite tracks: wake up; rebellion; neighborhood #1

This is good. The singers voice is a little whiney but not unbearable. Maybe it’s because I know these guys are Canadian that holds me back from being all in. I’d give other albums a listen. There’s good flow from track to track. The music is catchy and crisp. Lyrically It’s not simple which is a bonus. Choice cut: Crown of Love

Very interesting album is here. The voice is very expressive. I read the Wiki, and saw the female band member. I think this explains some of the lyricism in the sounds. I don't know that I'll come back to this one, but I will say that I enjoyed it. It feels like the band just let loose with all their influences and came up with really engaging stuff. I read comments that the songs move seamlessly from one to the other - this is correct. Well done!

Un album en ébullition, des émotions à fleur de peau aux arrangements polyphoniques et aux envolées musicales lyriques. Très bon mais ça me sature vite

Hard to separate out feelings and memories associated with this album and appraise it rationally. Now I feel you need to be in a certain mood to appreciate it and maybe my affection for it has dimmed slightly with time. Still a classic. 4.2

Solid album, but missing a little oomph

Good album, have some classic songs on it

I really like this one! I have heard individual songs but never listened front to back

Not terribly familiar with this band, just the one or two hit songs they've put out, but I did like this record on an initial listen, and will have to explore further.

4/24/24 I already liked “Wake Up” and had listened to the album before. Wasn’t giving it my full attention today but listened casually. Enjoyed it but something about it is too cerebral? for me or something like that.

a great debut sullied by a horny man

I still think this album is massively overrated compared to some of their other work, neon bible and reflektor both better but it’s still got some great songs on there

Had I been in my late teens, instead of my late thirties, when this came out, I'm sure it would have been played to death. I wasn't, and it didn't, but that doesn't make it any less of a fantastic album.

Nice indie pop music that can be on in the background or searched for deeper meaning. Not terribly familiar with Arcade Fire other than a single from their 2022 album I found last year, but I’m a fan. Easy listening, 4/5

Seminal Very Enjoyable Little bit too weird

I liked the instrumentals of this album, did it have an orchestra? I should revisit this one with more attention

I go through phases of listening to Arcade Fire - when I’m in the mood I LOVE this album

It either starts off a little too indie for me, or I just wasn't fully prepared for the sound/style when I started up the album, but god damn it's growing on me. Really good indie music. Raw and unique. It doesn't blow me away by any means, but it is really solid album to listen to.

I went back and forth a lot on Arcade Fire’s Funeral these past few days. We’ve already had one album by the band—Neon Bible—and this is certainly the better of the two. (Neon Bible should not have been on this list, imo). There’s this sense that Funeral changed the world when it came out. Everyone talked about it, talks about it; how it “changed indie music forever,” and such. I agree it did serve as the cornerstone of all indie music everywhere for a good decade or so and did pave the way for so many great indie bands thereafter. Really that legacy continues even today. It is a modern classic and absolutely essential. But it’s never quite clicked for me. And my problem is purely in the way the album sounds. Arcade Fire’s indie ambitions are great as ever, but their means are just not totally capable of capturing that ambition. The production is a bit flat. A bit hollow. And it does not service the spirit of the music it contains, which I agree is masterful. (Although I will say, Arcade Fire has this cringe-worthy tendency to make the scope of their music *too* grand and *too* all-encompassing, in a kind-of-annoying, Bono-y way, and that as a practice is all the more evident after the release of their most recent two albums, which are literally, un-ironically titled WE and EVERYTHING NOW, but is even evident here in smaller doses with the bands first four, critically acclaimed albums; but I digress). Funeral is much rawer than Neon Bible. But I get the impression it could have been even rawer. If the band would have maybe leaned more into their low-budget hyper-local means at the time instead of reaching for a sound they just couldn’t attain. That vision would eventually be attained on The Suburbs, the bands best album by a long shot, in my opinion (and it sound AMAZING compared to Funeral), but with Funeral…Funeral is not quite a swing-and-a-miss by any means, but it is a pretty hard cut at what amounts to a foul ball that easily had the distance for a home run. Though it’s still a shot heard round the world, for good reason.

Woah. I really really remember living through this exact moment in music, or rather, the aftermath… 2007 was when I started listening to actual music, and this was already extremely in the air. Just the way Win Butler phrases things and sounds so stylized and intense here, that’s a super familiar sound. Charlie summed up 100% of my thoughts as well with his review, I 100% agree. A bold, intense, beautiful album that is shooting higher than it has any right to. I’m glad Arcade Fire got a chance to refine this sound in The Suburbs, which is really the band’s masterwork and what this first album is leading to. But there’s something about that desperate, intense wildness of Win and Régine on these records, plus the really desperate guitar, it’s kind of unmatched on any of their subsequent records, which were always going to sound more “perfect.” This was recorded in a week! That’s an achievement in itself. That’s insane. An album that promised to all of its followers and acolytes that there’s beauty to be made by just bleeding your heart dry, giving it your all on the bandstand, and perhaps rock is not dead, but it’s ready to wake again. 4/5

The album is best experienced listened to from beginning to end

1-fuego; 2-laika :(; 3-Ne pas comprender; 4-Not bad; 5-:( (good way) 7-Beat Switch :) 10-very good; Bom álbum, boas ideias e bem executadas. 3.5/5

When I got recommended this album, I had already heard it many times, and I knew I liked it a lot. That makes this review pretty easy! After revisiting the album today, I can confirm it's a 4-star project. Good stuff.

Amazing album from the godfather of metal.

Whatever my feelings about Win Butler, this is an important album by an important band. 4.5/5

Too cool for me. (?!?) I like indy rock but Arcade Fire is a bit much.

Never heard of them, interresting enough to be added to favorites and explore some more.

For a certain generation (in which I'm included), this album marked a shift in musical taste. It also opened the floodgates for every liberal arts major to go start a bedroom band and not be afraid of making music that they wanted to make. And for that, I'm eternally grateful. But how does this one hold up? While I think the band would go on to make overall better and more cohesive projects, this is quite the way to make yourself known, and most tracks here are indie anthems 20 years on. Too bad Win Butler ruined it all :/

Such a pretty album. At times it feels like it's giving you a warm hug. And wake up is a gorgeous anthem of a song. Fav songs: - all the neighbourhoods - Wake Up

Удивительная группа конечно сочетающая в себе много мало сочетаемых друг с другом вещей. Альбом очень красивый плавное течение музыки на нем то и дело обрывается очень драматизированными надломами. Такое надо переслушать где то в начале сентября.

great for a debut album

A good album with a number of iconic songs, most notably "Tunnels," "Wake Up," and "Rebellion (Lies)." I'm not sure it is Arcade Fire's best work, but it does perfectly encapsulate the angst of its time.

I didn’t know I was an arcade fire fan! For some reason I thought they were more like imagine dragons. I thoroughly enjoyed the folk influence and the less produced sound

Great indie album.

That’s a great record

Interesting Indie Rock. I almost like the music. 4/5

I'd never heard this album before, though I'm very familiar with "The Suburbs." I like their brand of dreamy rock, though in smaller doses.

Funeral was an excellent example of creative experimentation combined with peak musicianship. Each song twisted and turned in ways I never expected and brought something new to the table. I wasn't sure what to expect for the next track. Being released in 2004, this was a highlight for the alt rock and indie genres. This band knows that they're doing. My favorite track is Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles). Album added to my Spotify library.