Arcade Fire - Funeral [Black Vinyl LP]

Montreal's Arcade Fire captured raw emotion and orchestral ambition in equal measure on Funeral, their debut studio album. The album was given its title because several band members had recently lost members of their families, lending the record an authentic sense of grief, hope, and catharsis. Preliminary recordings were made during the course of a week in August 2003 at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal, Quebec, and the recording was completed later that year all in an analogue recording format. This pressing features a gatefold jacket with debossed silver artwork.

The album produced five singles: "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)," "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," "Rebellion (Lies)," and "Wake Up," with "Rebellion (Lies)" becoming the most successful, peaking at #19 on the UK Singles Chart. The 10-track album showcases the band's ability to build from intimate moments to explosive crescendos, with Win Butler and Regine Chassagne's vocals soaring over layers of guitars, strings, accordion, French horn, and unconventional percussion. Tracks like "Crown of Love" and "In the Backseat" balance vulnerability with the anthemic sweep that would become the band's signature, while "Haiti" incorporates Chassagne's Haitian heritage into a haunting reflection on her parents' homeland.

This all-analog 150-gram pressing captures the density and dynamics of the original recordings across two sides in a gatefold configuration. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Alternative Music Album and received widespread critical acclaim, topping many year-end and decade-end lists. The pressing maintains the warmth of the analog recording process while delivering the orchestral layers and emotional intensity that made Funeral a landmark debut.

• Format: Black Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: "Wake Up," "Rebellion (Lies)," "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"
• Pressing details: 150-gram vinyl, all-analog pressing, gatefold jacket with debossed silver artwork
• Genre/style: Indie Rock, Baroque Pop, Art Rock, Alternative Rock
• UPC: 889854624217

Funeral redefined what an indie rock debut could achieve, combining orchestral arrangements with punk energy and heartfelt lyrics that transformed personal loss into universal catharsis.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)
2. Neighbourhood #2 (Laïka)
3. Une Année Sans Lumière
4. Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)
5. Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)

Side B:

1. Crown Of Love
2. Wake Up
3. Haïti
4. Rebellion (Lies)
5. In The Backseat