The legions of fans waiting for the follow-up to the Arcade Fire's critically championed 2004 indie masterpiece, FUNERAL, may be slightly disappointed to learn that this EP, officially released in 2005, is not FUNERAL's follow-up but, in fact, its predecessor. Originally recorded in 2003 and sold over the web and at Arcade Fire shows, this seven-song EP plays like a sonic blueprint for the majestic, passionate songscapes of the band's 2004 watershed album. Of course, FUNERAL is so fully realized, so full of emotional drama and unique, meticulous songcraft, that comparisons are unfair. Like the songs on FUNERAL, the tunes here treat themes of loss, love, family, youth, and self-awareness with startling sincerity and vividness. The band's distinctive instrumentation, which includes strings, accordion, banjo, and French horn amid the usual rock guitars, bass, and drums, highlights the orchestral nature of the Arcade Fire's arrangements, while Win Butler's warbly, soulful vocals (and the impish voice of Regine Chassagne) ring out over the fray. The band's knack for memorable melodies that surge and stir comes to the fore, especially on the driving "No Cars Go" and the soulful, folky sway of "Vampire/Forest Fire," which builds to a thunderous apex. Though overshadowed by the band's full-length debut, this is still an absorbing listen that represents the Arcade Fire's first confident steps.

Jun 2005

Recorded on a miniscule budget before they were signed, this seven track EP from Arcade Fire helped establish the band’s inimitable sound, and set them on the path towards their hugely successful and critically acclaimed debut album ‘Funeral’. Having been previously unavailable in the UK, original incarnations of the EP have been commanding extortionate amounts on the likes of eBay.

• Uncut (p.127) - 3 stars out of 5 - "It's a fascinating work...introducing their unique amalgam of epic rock, Salinger-like flight from adulthood and....meandering country-soul..."

One of the most celebrated new bands of 2004, the Arcade Fire came out of Montreal's vibrant music scene with a melancholic, cinematic sound equally redolent of '80s heroes like the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen and latter-day orchestral-rockers Mercury Rev. Frontman Win Butler, grandson of famed steel guitarist/bandleader Alvino Rey, filled the band's acclaimed debut with sad songs full of yearning sentiments and memorable melodies, fleshed out with widescreen arrangements that feature everything from violin to glockenspiel.