It'll make you feel young again. Before the Grammys and the sold out stadium shows, Arcade Fire was just a rag tag crew of merry pranksters that crafted raw and emotional music in Montreal. Their 2004 debut album - Funeral - shows all the signs of the theatrical and cinematic pop brilliance that they would soon be known for. This wasn’t just another indie band, these guys had a real sense of danger in their art. “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” starts the album out on a whimsical and uplifting note with its dancey beat and plucking piano lines. The song crescendos into full on arms-in-the-air euphoria, which is a technique they will use throughout the album, taking each track to its emotional summit. All the “Neighborhood” songs will start showing you how adept this crew is at painting a picture of drama, love and euphoria. The standout single on the album is “Rebellion (Lies)” which will surely live on in car commercials and movie trailers until the end of time. This song has also become a standard of their live sets as it continues to build and build with strings and vocals and aching and desire. This album has come to be known as one of the great albums of the 2000s and for good reason: it stands as a beautiful reminder of the raw youth that started it all. 

• black vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve
• music label: Sony 2017

reviewed by boumtje-boumtje 09/2014