Artist Spotlight

When you talk about Indie rock and what an “indie” band sounds like I immediately think of The Arcade Fire. Their sound, work ethic, style and huge popularity but remaining to still stay on an independent record label are virtues to an indie rock band. When this band hit the scene an explosion of positive reviews came from all sides and without really any recognition before that a super band was formed.

The band started out with Win Butler in a ritzy New England prep school who had named the band after an old rumor from a friend of his as a child had told him.  The band is really what a traditional band sounds like, meaning that they use all sorts of musical instruments for their albums and sound more of like a mini orchestra.  The entire bands consists of about 7 members respectively and consists of Butler’s wife and his brother as well as friends from their prep school growing up.  They released their self titled EP in early 2003 and without little known existence and recognition the band had started quite a cult following on tour.  The band started gaining some main stream attention so they quickly banded back together to finish their debut album entitled Funeral which sparked positive reviews around the country.

When Funeral came out in 2004 it was a indie phenomenon and it was one of those things where everybody wanted to jump on the band wagon before it was too late.  It was sort of like what happened with Kings of Leon and all the New York hipsters wearing deep v-necks and smoking cigs talking about “Hey, check out this new band Arcade Fire I found” and then everyone argues about who heard them first.  The band was like one of those bands you were a dick head for not liking and it was like you were stupid for not hearing about them or having their album.  I fell victim to this a year after the album came out and I am not ashamed to say it because I’m glad I fell into this band and their music.  The album is flawless and every song from all the “Neighborhood Songs” (Each song written about a memory from a band member’s childhood) to the huge single “Rebellion (Lies) which sounds like an end of a movie sing a long.  This album is so good it has singles coming out 5 years after the album did with “Wake Up” which can be heard on the preview for book turned movie Where The Wild Things Are.  The band is a blessing to the music industry and they deserve all the praise they get for their originality and style.

After several years of touring and breaks the band bought an abandoned Church to record their next album and to be serious the album matches the spookiness of the story.  The album was entitled Neon Bible and featured a creepy black cover with a neon sign bible being flipped through, as if it were hanging out of a bar/church window.  Most people would expect the album to be sub par to it’s predecessor but critics and fans alike, including myself, felt it was just as much of a masterpiece as Funeral. The album kicks with single “Keep The Car Running” which is an upbeat bar sing a long type song and flows into the title track “Neon Bible”.  The darker more creepy tracks follow with “Intervention” a song for disgust with religion and how it may have ruined a family as well as less dark songs like ” Ocean of Noise.”  My favorite track off the album is the Bruce Springsteen inspired “(Antichrist)Television Blues” which sounds like it could be off an early Springsteen record.  All in all the album is just as incredible as the previous and I would recommend the two albums and EP to anybody who is really into Indie rock in general.  I would suggest picking up Funeral first just for the sake of it being “their album” as a band and work my way to the other ones.

Below is the video of the song “Wake Up” off of Funeral.