Search - Arcade Fire :: Ep

Arcade Fire's Promising Debut, Remastered

Juan Mobili | Valley Cottage, NY USA | 08/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Solinas is right when he says that "it's hard not to be smitten" with this band. Having listened to Funeral, a few months after its release -lost months I feel, given how grand that album is!- and in the absence of any new material, I felt compelled to buy this EP.

Certainly, although I would not give it five stars, I was far from disappointed, and I believe that in it you will find some of the basic musical DNA that made their first full album such remarkable feat.

Although their sound does not have the emotional conviction that Funeral exudes, there's enough here to expect greater things from this band, which indeed they proved to be the case with the above mentioned full-length release.

For instance, "Old Flame," the opener, already shows some of the band's trademark arrangements and carries you away with the kinnd of fierce nostalgia they will perfect later.

As far as the alledged missing confidence of this debut, you may find that that's not quite the case. Win Butler and Régine Chassagne's vocals are passionate and poignant respectively already, although they may not reach the urgency and deep murning that informed Funeral.

For me, there are two gems that deserve enough praise to warrant purchase of this EP, "My Heart is an Apple" -that grows in intensity as the song develops and includes a touching passage beautifully sung by Régine- and "Vampire / Forest Fire," probably the best song in this EP and worthy of the best of Funeral's, in which Butler sounds like Neil Young circa OnThe Beach.

All in all, this is more than a respectable debut, and worth having, if you fell under the Arcade Fire's spell."

A Wonderful and Completely Overlooked Start

Catherine Rubsam | 11/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Arcade Fire exploded in flame recently, with a quasi-hit with Rebellion/Lies and a critically hailed debut album. But what of their beginnings? Thankfully, the band took the time to have this re-released, and what a reissue it is!

While not quite in the league of Funeral, this is a melancholy, sweeping experimental record that has its ups-and-downs, but still ends in a great place. The obvious best in No Cars Go, but that's out of the question. Still, the other songs are more than competent, with beautiful lyrics and vocals that draw you in and trap you for the full time of this EP.

While not perfect, definetly a wonderful step foward for the sad, sad, sad rock music scene at current. With bands like My Chem. and Fall Out Boy having smashes with barely there records recorded simply for the cause of making money, a band who actually strives to make good music is becoming increasingly endangered. Odd how Canada would save America AGAIN."

Where it all started - keep that in mind when buying....

face02 | Schaumburg, IL United States | 07/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Seems like some of the review bellow believe that this is a weak follow-up to Funeral. That is, thankfully, not true. This EP is the first thing the band ever put out - re-released due to the success of Funeral.



While there honestly isn't anything nearly as good as ANY of the songs on Funeral, you can really get a sense of the beginnings of a great band. There is a lot of promise here, that was realized for their debut album. Nothing sounds nearly as polished and powerful as the current album. All the songs have very sparce production and do not pack the punch that these songs have when you see the band live - now that they have more experience playing them.



Standouts on the album are Old Flame, No Cars Go, Headlights Look Like Diamonds, and the ballad My Heart Is An Apple. As I stated above, none of these are close to the quality of anything on Funeral - which is the album most fans discovered the band from. This makes it difficult to recommend the album to anyone other than hard-core fans of the band. To the casual listener, you will most likely be disapointed in the quality of what you are hearing. Just keep in mind that while this sounds like a step back from Funeral, it is actually a stepping stone they used to get to Funeral.



For big fans of Arcade Fire, it is definately a treat to hear the starting point for one of the best bands around."