Arcade Fire - Funeral
Critic Score
Based on 23 reviews
2004 Ratings: #2 / 447
User Score
2004 Ratings: #5
Liked by 741 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Tiny Mix Tapes

Funeral is like nothing you've heard before, and altogether familiar. Funeral comforts and cares, marches and dares, and towers over us with its anthemic choruses and orchestral arrangements.

100
NOW Magazine

The Montreal indie squad use forms rooted in tradition, from violin-drenched waltzes to dusty acoustic folk, from doo-wop to calypso, and give them a theatrical pomo twist.

100
Clash

The scorched soul of these 10 songs shines like a winter sun, bright against the gloom of the loss that inspired it.

100
The Guardian
Everything is delivered in Flaming Lips cinemascope, which would mean nothing without lyrics to melt the heart.
100
Drowned in Sound
The fact that the music is so paradoxically life-affirming and euphoric makes it much easier to write, what now feel like, trite hyperboles.
100
God Is in the TV

This is the debut of the millennium, and I cannot describe just how much you need it in your life.

100
AllMusic

These are songs that pump blood back into the heart as fast and furiously as it's draining from the sleeve on which it beats

97
Pitchfork

It's taken perhaps too long for us to reach this point where an album is at last capable of completely and successfully restoring the tainted phrase "emotional" to its true origin.

90
Coke Machine Glow

Funeral ... is a realization of what they'd set out to practice with Arcade Fire, and is a resounding success on all levels -- the group clearly able to make something incredible out of the familiar, and something inexplicably moving out of one emotionally draining year.

90
DIY

The mix of funk, psychedelica and down the line college rock comes through just as strong on record as it does on stage. Stand out 'Neighbourhood #3' being a prime example.

90
Sputnikmusic

A beautiful musical opus that transcends its surface meaning with moments of both heart-wrenching tragedy and uplifting encouragement.

90
No Ripcord

Funeral, is so fresh and exciting it's hard to believe they are operating in an old and potentially stale form. Not only are the songs uniformly excellent, they also show a mastery of the art of controlled dynamics, of tension and release, that most young bands ignore to pursue the catharsis of sustained intensity.

90
Paste

The band has created an unquestionably sincere and autobiographical work of art, no matter how coded the lyrics prove at times. 

90
NME

For those of us who still believe in music’s power to redeem, ‘Funeral’ feels like detox, the most cathartic album of the year.

83
Entertainment Weekly

For the most part, Funeral is a lovely, uplifting, and often pleasingly grandiose whirl through a panoply of sounds.

80
Rolling Stone

The band could have gone for a less direct title, but even then it would have been crystal clear: Funeral captures the agony and even ecstasy of surviving death all around you.

80
Q Magazine
It's so out of step with most indie rock it's as if it's been beamed from outer space.
80
Uncut

At times their lurid romanticism can be an acquired taste ... But there's an ambition and articulacy here.

80
Gigwise
The orchestrations ultimately provide beauty and peace, but are never far from turmoil.
80
Prefix

With Funeral, they have expanded their sound beyond the narrow sonic precincts of their EP and begin to make a name for themselves in the sphere of multi-instrumental indie rock.

80
Mojo
All the components that make the Arcade Fire such a gripping live proposition remain intact on this full-length debut.
80
PopMatters

Chances are you’ll be oddly moved, compulsively intrigued, and perhaps even peer into the darker cavities of your memory where virtuous perceptions remain untainted.

70
Alternative Press
Strikingly beautiful pop songs.
MiaWatterson
100

Funeral is the debut album of the band Arcade Fire. It is their best record in my opinion as it represents an ambitious, passionate, intense and poetic piece of art. It is extremely deep and emotional and I have to say, it touches me in a very personal way. The group itself influenced and influences indie and alternative bands. I'm a huge fan of Arcade Fire's music and I really like The Suburbs but this is... This is a MASTERPIECE. The instrumentation is almost symphonic, every layer is in its ... read more

zachthesnack
94

Far and beyond on of the single most enjoyable musical experiences I have ever had! This is one of the most exciting and energetic indie rock records I have ever heard! Arcade Fire’s debut was a classic as soon as it came out and its not hard to tell why!

castoffcrown
96

My maths teacher Mr. O'Grady was always asking my opinion on music and asked whether I had this album when it came out. I said I couldn't afford it, so he turned up the next day with a copied CD of it. Tracklist and everything. Cheers, Sir. 🥰

InternetGuy
100

This is so perfect for a debut. WTF.

OlManWrinkles
88

Funeral" by Arcade Fire is most definitely one of my recent favorites, offering a unique journey and distinct mood within each track. The album's seamless consistency is truly impressive, as it maintains its excellence from start to finish. Each song evokes a distinct set of emotions, making the album a truly remarkable and captivating experience. This ability to evoke a range of emotions is what elevates "Funeral" to greatness.

Hiroki
90

That was the beginning of me listening to indie rock.

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