Arcade Fire Albums Ranked

Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with Win’s younger brother William Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band’s current touring line-up also includes former core member Sarah Neufeld, percussionist Tiwill Duprate and saxophonist Stuart Bogie. All the band’s studio albums have received nominations for Best Alternative Music Album at the Grammys. Funeral is widely considered by music critics to be one of the greatest albums of the 2000s. The band’s work has also been named three times as a shortlist nominee for the Polaris Music Prize: in 2007 for Neon Bible, in 2011 for The Suburbs and in 2014 for Reflektor. Here are all of Arcade Fire’s albums ranked from worst to best,

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5. Everything Now (2017)

“This is absolutely a love/hate album, and if you like the musical direction the band has been taking since The Suburbs, you’re going to fall in love with this album, particularly on repeated listening sessions. If, you are longing for a return to Funeral, this is going to disappoint you.

Essentially, the songwriting is still here, and the ability to mix several sounds into orchestral-style productions that is the hallmark of the Arcade Fire is still present (albeit quite a bit more electronic and pop-oriented here). This is Neon Bible, as remastered by Daft Punk.

There are some curious choices on the bridge tracks, particularly some of the more stripped down versions that delve into almost country-style guitar, before returning to the electronic and pop-oriented sound that ties the rest of the album together.

Most of the album is catchy and deserves repeated listening to appreciate (same as every Arcade Fire album). This one is clearly a refinement in direction and sound, but I like it.”

4. Neon Bible (2007)

“I hated “Neon Bible” the first time I heard it. I liked Arcade Fire, I was jamming to quite a few of their tunes, but something about “Neon Bible” really put me off. But something kept bringing me back. Well, ok, I know exactly what kept bringing me back. ‘Keep The Car Running’ and ‘No Cars Go’ are exceptional tracks, possibly the two best of the entire Arcade Fire discography, but the rest…it wasn’t clicking with me. Then randomly one day I threw it on, just for old times sake, and it hit me. The only reason I was having issues with the rest of the album was because of my expectations, it isn’t high powered and energetic like the two tracks it is best known for, those are the exceptions. The rest of the album is a sometimes mellow, sometimes emotionally charged venture through someones life, and the tracks I fell in love with were simply a part of that life.”

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3. Reflektor (2013)

“Arcade Fire refuses to duplicate their sound from album to album. Each of their four main studio albums are so different from one another … it’s hard to really judge them against the others. If you wanted “The Suburbs Pt Deux,” you’ll be supremely disappointed. However, if you go in with no expectation, you’ll find something quite good.

Across this two disc set, my personal feeling is that the album is backloaded: the last few tracks are some of the best. “Porno” is one of the most moving and powerful songs they’ve ever written, and “Afterlife” is meaningful and catchy (and be sure to check out the music video for it!!). Finally there’s “Supersymmetry,” which was used as the end credits music to the indie film “Her.” It’s a very loooong song with a weird instrumental middle, but the first few minutes are definitely worth listening to.”

2. Funeral (2004)

“The first time I was introduced to Arcade Fire, I was hesitant to buy into the hype that they “are one of the 5 best new bands since 2000,” according to a few sources. I heard a few songs, and was impressed, but just didn’t understand the hype. Then I listened to Neighborhood #1.

From the first track on Funeral, I was hooked. It’s beautiful, and to this day, will still bring a tear to my eye. I learned that, as with many great albums, it is important to listen to it in entirety. Splitting it up will ruin the experience. The songs, while great on their own, are made magnificent when played back to back.

Some will call Arcade Fire an overly dramatic band, and point to Funeral as a prime example for good reason. It is a very dramatic album to the point that some will find it pretentious. To me, it’s that very human emotion that is woven throughout the album that I love. It’s a postmodern take on the human condition and emotion.”

1. The Suburbs (2010)

“This is a brilliant album all the way through. I think it is a nice transition from Neon Bible and Reflektor. This album has quite a bit going on in the way of it’s use of instruments. Heavily orchestrated at moments and then stripped, simple art-pop at the next turn. This band makes it impossible to have a favorite song or favorite album, everything is really good and they don’t seem to be sitting very still in any specific space for very long. Hopefully this group can help fill the art-pop genre that will be very bare since Bowie has left us. I find there are many Bowie”ish” things about the album.”