With six permanent members and sometimes more for live performances, Canadian outfit Arcade Fire quickly garnered attention for using as many types of instruments as there were people onstage. Combined with poetic lyrics and uber-creative stage antics, music videos and marketing campaigns, the band’s catalog has been classified as art-rock since its 2004 debut ‘Funeral.’ Indie-rock fans were quick to catch on, readily latching on to the album, which managed to make ruminating on mortality feel new again as a musical concept. The album earned the band some serious indie cred, a Grammy nomination and a later-in-life hit in ‘Wake Up.’ Fronted by husband-and-wife duo Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, the Montreal-based act maintained its indie-darling status with its 2007 sophomore effort, ‘Neon Bible.’ However, it wasn’t until they caught the world by surprise by winning the Grammy for Album of the Year for 2010’s ‘The Suburbs’ that Arcade Fire became household names. Their fame paved the way for their fourth full-length, ‘Reflektor,’ allowing for a massive marketing campaign leading up to the album’s release and larger-than-life performance art-esque live shows that they’ve now become known for.
- Selected Discography: ‘Funeral’ (2004), ‘The Suburbs’ (2010), ‘Reflektor’ (2013)
- Further Reading: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Arcade Fire, Instant Expert: Arcade Fire, Nastiest Rock Feuds: Arcade Fire vs. Flaming Lips