Top 10 Arcade Fire Songs

Thanks to its inspiring lyrics and colorful melody, this track off Arcade Fire’s third studio effort has us singing and dancing along. Regine Chassagne’s lead vocals and the band’s carefully crafted instrumentation are particularly notable for bringing out the song’s emotional impact and getting us hooked on just the first few listens.

#9: “The Suburbs” The Suburbs (2010)

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The title cut to Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs can be described as an indie rock and post-punk revival number that explores residential life outside a city’s urban core. Written and produced by the band themselves, the single grabs your attention with its marching beat and keeps that attention with its catchy chorus.

Inspired by the Montreal ice storm of 1998, Win Butler, Regine Chassagne and Josh Deu penned this seemingly dark single from Funeral in 2003. In short, it’s noisy, it’s energetic and tons of fun. But it’s also got some amped up guitars and kick ass drumming – all of which makes “Neighborhood 3” a perfect tune to play live again and again.

#7: “Modern Man” The Suburbs (2010)

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Though it wasn’t released as a single, “Modern Man” stands out as one of The Suburbs’ highlights thanks to its melding of multiple instruments, and especially its guitar work. Exploring some of the issues that men face during the twenty-first century, the four-and-a-half minute piece shows us why Arcade Fire are truly a modern band.

#6: “We Used to Wait” The Suburbs (2010)

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Starting off with piano, this gorgeous single contrasts the innocence of the past with today’s fast-changing times. With Chassagne’s voice beautifully and hauntingly supplementing Butler’s lead vocals, “We Used to Wait” slowly builds in intensity until we’re all “screaming ‘sing the chorus again!’” with the band. The song so captivated Google it was used in a music video demonstrating some of the capabilities of the Chrome web browser.

The band purchased an old church for the purposes of recording their sophomore effort. So it’s not that shocking that Neon Bible features a choir, orchestra and pipe organ on several songs. With its baroque pop sound, “Intervention” is no exception. Organ never sounded so good in an indie rock song.

#4: “Ready To Start” The Suburbs (2010)

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Since The Suburbs won Album of the Year at the Grammys, it’s not surprising that individual songs on the record also received recognition by the Academy. Though “Ready to Start” didn’t win the trophy, the fact that it was nominated is reason enough for its inclusion. But that’s not all: with memorable guitar work, rousing drums, and multiple string arrangements, the song is perfectly crafted for stage performance.

It might not have been the first single released from their debut, but it was arguably the first one to really catch on with radio stations in Arcade Fire’s home country of Canada. While it contains elements of indie rock and baroque pop, “Rebellion (Lies)” also gets its rebellious message across with some prog rock and post-punk revival mixed in. It’s an energetic and rhythmic rocker that’s also a live staple.

#2: “Wake Up” Funeral (2004)

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Funeral’s last single is an uplifting and joyous number that lets you go on a musical journey with the members of Arcade Fire in tow. Thanks to its use of multiple vocals and instruments, “Wake Up” wholly captures the band’s ambitious sound to a tee. You can’t help but stay awake while this tune soars along.

The opening track to Arcade Fire’s first album is also the first of four songs on Funeral in the “Neighborhood” series. With Butler’s distinctive vocals, Chassagne’s high notes and complex instrumentation, “Neighborhood #1” didn’t only introduce us to the band’s original sound but also kept us wanting more. Simply put, it’s the ultimate Arcade Fire track and you just gotta take a listen for yourself to see why. Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Arcade Fire song? Be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com for more entertaining top 10s.