The Arcade Fire

Music: Neighborhood #2 (Laika) by The Arcade Fire

Every once in awhile there comes a band that is really easy to get behind. You love the music, you love the image, you love the passion. I mean a lot of good bands come and go, but it's rare to find one that feels so true and real, one you can really believe in. Right now I feel like that about The Arcade Fire.

Their album finally came out this year after years of being together as a band and numerous family turmoils. 4 band members had members of their family die during the recording of this album, hence the title "Funeral." Every one of the songs feels like such care and emotion was put into every bar of it. Win Butler's voice is amazing. He has this waver when he sings, and it almost sounds like he's talking. I can't imagine how he does it, but the words somehow stumble out of his mouth and it just sounds so genuine.

The band is 6 or 7 members large and they all get into the live show. Every review of their live show I've read has been beyond glowing. They're being praised left and right. In between every song is a massive switching of instruments. All the members sing and scream during parts of the song, whether they have mikes or not. The jack-of-all-instruments in the band plays the drums on the actual drummer's set, on all parts of the venue's stage, and on his own helmeted head, in between his various other instrumental duties. Even being indie rock, some of their songs rock as hard as anything. The last song is practically a funeral procession, as the band travels through the crowd to the back of the venue and out the door. It's supposed to be magical. I absolutely cannot wait to see them on the 3rd. From the descriptions I've read, they're musical geniuses. It's so weird, this group of people from some freezing cold region of Canada who came out of absolutely nowhere and blew everyone away. I worry about them becoming too popular, or losing their inspiration, or just burning out, but this is the exact point where things are most exciting and I just really can't wait to see them.

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