Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire EP

The Arcade Fire are truly an oddity. Hailing, as they do, from Montreal, where the winters are bitterly cold, so I am told. They make music which possesses an eloquence and wonder, and always with a feeling of warmth within a freezing, desperate landscape. We hear it the voice of frontman Win Butler, who sings every song as if it were his last, with a hushed energy which is nothing short of astounding. This more than makes up for the fact that neither he nor his wife Régine possess the most polished voices. The interplay and harmony of the voices can sometimes reach effortless and exhilarating heights.

Had the collective's (for it is just that) debut album not met with the unexpected success it did, this EP would probably have sunk into the quagmire of interesting yet obscure indie releases. As it is, the acclaim of respected critics and successful tours of Europe and North America have saved it from this fate. Many will throw up their hands and cry out that this EP is not a patch on Funeral, one can not help but feel that this is somewhat reactionary. While this EP is not the emotional and vocal punch in the stomach that Funeral is, all the same elements are here, albeit in lesser quantities. This may not be their best work, but why the hell should it be? It is an excellent document of a band honing their skills and learning how to play to their strengths.

The ability to carefully, patiently construct a rapturous song is displayed in abundance here, indicating an underling confidence from the very beginning. Whilst many early EPs from new bands are nothing more than glossy demos (occasionally without the gloss), this EP actually allows the listener to understand the sound of the band better than the LP alone did, indeed, they complement each other well. The problem is that, where Funeral never failed to deliver drama, the focus and direction on the EP are occasionally lapse slightly. A fine example is ‘Vampire/Forest Fire', a meandering number with excessive banjo which sounds more like second-rate Eels than anything else. This, however, is an exception on this EP, and tracks like ‘Headlights Look Like Diamonds' demonstrate without a doubt that Funeral was no happy accident, and that The Arcade Fire has the potential to become a truly classic band.

Daniel Westerlund

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