Arcade Fire, Funeral.
So we need to discuss the Arcade Fire record, Funeral. I originally purchased it from the iTunes Music Store on the recommendation of webcartoonist Jeph Jacques (and by "recommendation" I mean he talked about it in the newspost and I figured, what the hell). I had an immediate and visceral reaction to the music when I began listening to the record.
I thought it was awful.
Yes, I could see the burgeoning roots of genius buried beneath entirely too much pretension. The raw, brutal guitar line at the beginning of "Wake Up" I thought was spoiled and defiled by the remainder of the song, the odd, low-rent instrumentation tacked on to it like an afterthought. I still think the guitar line is the greatest part of the entire record, but I grudgingly admit, the song is growing on me. I have yet to listen to the entire album over again--who needs a reminder they blew ten bucks on a crappy record?--but perhaps there is something in allowing it room to play. Or not.
But I will tell you this: I don't recommend buying the album, nor would I suggest even looking in its direction, unless you're already familiar with and appreciative of sloppy collectivized songs with meandering structures. Putting 13 people in a band sounds an awful lot like too many chefs in the kitchen. Perhaps it is simply my tastes, and the fact that my musical attentions lean toward the fast, the ragged, and the brutal (reference ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's Source Tags and Codes).
So if you're curious about the band, let me end this capsule review with steer clear, unless you've already heard them and you already like them. Unfortunately for the Arcade Fire, you can extinguish the flames, but the reagents have already changed into something else entirely.