Description

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.

Biography

Win Butler Rgine Chassagne Richard Parry Tim Kingsbury and Wins kid brother William Butler formed the Arcade Fire in summer 2003 The experimental indie rock quintet who hail from Montreal initially began when the elder Butler spotted Chassagne singing jazz standards at a local art exhibit at Concordia University in their hometown From there two became inseparable both professionally and personally Gathering Parry on organ Kingsbury on bass and the younger Butler on synthesizer and percussion the Arcade Fire fleshed out an eclectic mix of bossa nova punk and classically tinged songs A self-titled EP appeared in 2003 That same year the band signed with Merge and prepped for their first studio album During its recording the band dealt with several tragedies Chassagnes grandmother passed away in June 2003 while the Butlers grandfather swing-era composerarranger Alvino Rey and Parrys aunt perished within a month of each other in spring 2004 Heartache into beauty when Chassagne married Win six months earlier The Arcade Fires debut album Funeral arrived in September 2004 A headlining tour of the US coincided its release MacKenzie Wilson All Music Guide