Arcade Fire - Arcade Fire Ep

by Mark Rowland

published: 5 / 6 / 2005

Label: Rough Trade
Format: CDS

intro

Re-release of superb self-titled 2003 from highly acclaimed Montreal collective Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’ is easily one of the best records of this year, and it is guaranteed that those who have picked up a copy of ‘Funeral’ will be desperate to pick up a copy of their re-released self-titled EP from 2003. Although it does not quite reach the incredibly high standard of ‘Funeral’, the seven songs on the EP are still superb. The arrangements on most of the songs are sparser than those on ‘Funeral’, but are still quite layered, with accordion, strings and the odd banjo making appearances in different places. One of the best things about ‘The Arcade Fire EP’ is the greater presence of Régine Chassagne’s Bjork-like signing voice, which appears prominently on three tracks, dueting with other vocalist Win Butler on ‘The Woodland National Anthem’ and ‘My Heart is an Apple’. The EPs songs are varied, from the acoustic guitar-led ‘Old Flame’ to the jaunty, dub – influenced ‘I’m Sleeping in a Submarine’. The best track is, however, the last. The seven-minute ‘Vampire/Forest Fire’ is a gentle number with a great melody, which, in true Arcade Fire tradition, builds to a big crescendo. The quality of this first release goes to show just how good a band Arcade Fire is. If they can produce music of this quality so early on in their career, God knows what they’ll do on their next albu

Track Listing:-

1 Old Flame
2 I'm Sleeping in a Submarine
3 No Cars Go
4 The Woodlands National Anthem
5 My Heart is an Apple
6 Headlights Look Like Diamonds
7 Vampires / Forest Fire

Label Links:-

https://twitter.com/RoughTradeRecs
http://roughtraderecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roughtraderecords

live reviews

Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, 27/11/2007

One of the most talked about live acts of recent years, Jamie Rowland watches Arcade Fire play an amazing set to a capacity audience at the vast Manchester Evening News Arena

digital downloads

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

reviews

Funeral (2005)

Seminal indie guitar rock on debut album from the soon-to-be-much-hyped Arcade Fire, which has already won ecstatic reviews in America, and is soon to take Britain by storm