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The Arcade FireFuneral Spunk/Inertia Call me a cynical old killjoy but if I had a dollar for every time I've received a record with an accompanying press release declaring it as the future of rock'n'roll then I'd drive a much nicer car than I do. There's one every week or so and as much as I like Franz Ferdinand or The Killers or TV On The Radio or Bright Eyes or Bloc Party I haven't really found myself looking at music in a whole new light after listening to their CDs, having been alerted to hitherto unimagined vistas of possibility. Every US music publication has been gushing about The Arcade Fire's 'Funeral' since late last year and it's hovered near the top of most of their Best Of 2004 lists: so, by rights, there should be some oh-so-contemporary yelping vocals, a vague post-punk influence and, ooh, maybe some strings. Check, check and check... but after listening to this album for the best part of a week, I've also discovered something else: it's also really, really good. Great songs, interesting arrangements, clean and deft production, superb artwork. Much as I'd like to be the dissenting voice of reason shouting out against the hype, I'm forced to concede that this time the hype makes a good point. There are plenty of great moments: Power Out will keep indie dance floors filled when played after Take Me Out, Wake Up sounds like an outtake from Flaming Lips circa 'The Soft Bulletin', the catchy-as-all-get-out Rebellion (Lies) will probably be in my top ten songs of the year and the offbeat Haiti is sung in a French/English patois by Regine Chassange (who also takes lead on the gorgeous, affecting closing In The Backseat). There are strings, keys, guitars and percussion used interestingly and effectively throughout, reminding me of bands like The Decemberists (in ambition, if not actual sound). What's more, there are only ten songs which means that the album finishes with you still hungry for more. It's still probably not the future of rock'n'roll, but it's a hell of a good album that sounds like the good bits of all those bands you like put together in an interesting way. And that's enough, surely?  |
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