(Merge Records)
The Arcade Fire makes it clear right off the bat where they're coming from with their debut album, . \When family members kept dying, [The Arcade Fire] realized they should call their record ',' noting the irony of their first full-length recording bearing a name with such closure"" reads the band's whimsically written bio, included in the bizarre yet intriguing liner notes which are presented as a funeral pamphlet.
In other words, The Arcade Fire is a slightly strange, possibly disturbed, potentially brilliant indie band. With they have created an album of subtle beauty meditating on death and lost childhood innocence, stylistically borrowing equally from such varied indie stars as Bright Eyes and Modest Mouse to create a unique sound of their own.
As a result of sampling many different indie styles, is a well varied album that ranges from sparse yet textured rock to full-on dance rock think Franz Ferdinand with a string section to layered acoustic balladry. Vocally, frontman Win Butler often channels Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse when he drops into a chant/shout, and gets some help from Regine Chassagne who does a dead-on Bj??rk when she takes lead on the final cut. These similarities are largely superficial, however; proves to be its own fascinating work.
The first half of is dominated by the ""Neighborhood"" sequence of songs, all set from the vantage point of a child who knows more than his age would suggest. In fact, almost every song on the album mentions youth in some way, perhaps as the remedy for the death dealt with elsewhere.
The second half is the part that deals with death. But instead of just telling straightforward tales of death alone, The Arcade Fire casually reference it in many songs, often with contrasting images as in ""Neighborhood #4 (Kettles)"": ""Time keeps creepin' through the neighborhood, killing old folks, wakin' up babies..."" Love is even described as growing ""like a cancer"" at the same time that it slowly dies in ""Crown of Love"". This quality, of giving songs and emotions multiple meanings that still relate to the central theme, is one of the most important aspects of the album.
It is a rare gift for a band to know when to rap up an album like , or any album, really. The Arcade Fire wisely end after only ten tracks, including no filler to skip by. The final track, ""In The Backseat,"" answers the previous track's warning that ""sleeping is giving in"" with the line ""I like the peace in the backseat...I can fall asleep."" Ultimately, The Arcade Fire has beautifully dealt with the polar opposites of childhood and death, and at the end seems ready to move on to a period doesn't really cover at all: adulthood.
