Arcade Fire - Funeral

This is an album that definitely took me way too long to get. The first song I heard was watching the music video for "Rebellion (Lies)", which I liked but didn't flip out over. Later I heard "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" thanks to a friend, and thought it was pretty awesome. I knew how much people liked the album and was interested in buying it, but somehow it didn't end up happening for a long time. I didn't see it often in stores, and when I did the price wasn't right for some stupid reason. I almost forgot about it until they recorded a new version of "Wake Up" for the trailer to Where the Wild Things Are, but that was still about half a year before I finally bought the damn thing. And now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Funeral is one of my favorite albums of the last decade, ten tracks of incredibly consistent musical bliss without a single misstep to be heard.

The married couple of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne are the main songwriters and vocalists of the band, although there's currently five other permanent members. Win gets the lion's share of the lead vocals, although Régine's presence is pretty frequently evident and she does sing two of the last three tracks. There are lots of different instruments contributing to the sound, although the rock mainstay of the guitar is pretty frequently prevalent, and the percussion might be the single most important element in many of the songs. The whole Neighborhood suite that dominates the first half is pretty brilliant, with "Une Année sans Lumière" breaking it up a bit with a nice change of pace. The second half keeps up the pace, with two of the five singles, some of the more emotionally affecting songs, and a few of the more interesting cases where songs will completely change gears partway through and become something else. The background of the album is a bit sad, with it being written and recorded at a time when an unusually high number of band members' relatives dying, greatly influencing the songs (and the album's title, obviously), though it's hard to listen without coming out feeling good, thanks to the passionate, exuberant intensity with which they seem to tackle every single track. Just great from start to finish.