It’s a cold hard fact of life that everything we hold dear will wither away and die. According to Buddhist philosophy, the way to survive emotionally is to rid oneself of attachment. Instead of despairingly dwelling in the past, we must release our grasp from all things framed by time and look brightly toward the future. This is true for beloved elders who are approaching death as well as the old neighborhood that gave birth to fond memories. All these things are worth being loved and cherished, but only with the understanding that they are conditional and temporary.
Funeral, by the Montreal-based band the Arcade Fire, honestly confronts the emotion of a life framed by time, yielding a resounding resolve despite the underlying tone of sadness. This album contrasts the cryptic, melodrama of the emo bands that have managed to linger around in popular culture. The redundant, frustrated yelps of manufactured emotion are nowhere to be found on Funeral, possibly the strongest emotionally tangible album of the year.
Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, the married singer-songwriter duo, provide the emotional basis for Funeral through their vocal performances. Win dominates but Regine has two songs where she takes lead. On the song “In the back seat,” Regina sings of how she likes to gaze at scenery from the back seat of a car in a quiet, playful voice that leads to a sweeping crescendo as the song expands to encompass how time has shifted her family tree and she will soon have to take the driver’s seat. In the chorus, Regina wails, “Alice died in the night / I’ve been learning to drive / My whole life / I’ve been learning.” The chorus ends the album on a cathartic, emotional peak that develops naturally from the verses.
Otherwise, Regina serves to shadow and broaden Win’s voice. She adds intensity during the climax of “Neighborhood #2: Laika” by yelling passionately along with Win’s nervous drawl. “Une Anne Sans Lumiere” provides an equal mix between the two voices to give the vocals more range and emotional depth.
The vocals are set to a selection of eccentric and unique instrumentation. The first four songs showcase swells of angular, overdriven guitar that play off swirls and flourishes of piano (“Neighborhood #1: Funeral) and a melodic vibrating accordion and sparse glockenspiel jabs (“Neighborhood #2: Laika”). “Neighborhood #4: Hettles” introduces a somber string section that lasts for the remainder of the album and varies between smooth, undulating legato passages and nervous flutters and twitches.
The drums achieve a wonderful timbre throughout the album. The kick drum is punchy and the companion drums are crisp and consistently powerful. Most of the songs have a constant, unwavering string of kick drumbeats that provide a spongy foundation for the music but grow a bit tiring. Even on the strongest drum tracks, the drums are simple and stagnant. This is not a big issue, however, because the production really enhances their power, and they remain inventive.
To help communicate a precise understanding of the Arcade Fire’s style, it should help to liken them to three important bands: The Talking Heads, Franz Ferdinand and Neutral Milk Hotel. When all the elements that compose Funeral come together, the album sounds like an equal mix of the aforementioned bands.
Win’s voice is similar to David Byrne’s of the Talking Heads because they both have an anxious quality that is brought out by their style of half-singing, half-yelping. Both bands also utilize scrappy, angular guitar.
The production of Funeral approaches the sound of Neutral Milk Hotel by achieving an exotic yet natural quality. Additionally, the charisma of Win and Regine, combined with their vulnerable, engaging lyrics, provides a similar draw to that of NMH, which completely rests on its singer’s ability to captivate an audience through energy and emotion.
Finally, Funeral draws comparison to Franz Ferdinand through its driving and danceable drums.
Although, Funeral can be placed in context, it doesn’t sound contrived or derivative. It’s an album of intense introspection, quivering honesty, emotional depth, and sparkling maturity. The hooks are apparent with the polish and talent to back them up. All this gives the album an absolute quality that makes it possibly the best of the year.
Grade: A
