Arcade Fire Could Take the Reigns as the Biggest Name in Indie Rock

Arcade Fire is an indie rock group from Montreal, Canada that, despite only having released two full albums so far, has already made some big waves for a band still signed to an independent label. Both of their albums are certified platinum in Canada and gold in the U.K., and each album has sold just under 500,000 copies in the U.S. Additionally, Looking at just the last year, Arcade Fire has had their song "Wake Up" featured in the trailer of the big budget movie "Where the Wild Things Grow" and also featured in NFL commercials aired throughout the 2010 Super Bowl.

Those accomplishments alone already put Arcade Fire right up in the conversation for who is the biggest indie rock band at the moment (although I'd say it's safe to say that Vampire Weekend currently holds the edge for that title thanks to their sophomore album charting #1 this last January), but Arcade Fire also releases their third studio album, The Suburbs, next Tuesday.

Suburbs is already being praised by critics and was called their best album yet by both BBC and Rolling Stone. I have already listened to the whole album once in proper order and then a few more times on shuffle and to possibly add more proof that this could be their biggest hit yet, I was never much of an Arcade Fire fan (didn't dislike them but I just didn't care for the music that much) and so far I've been enjoying this album quite a bit and have already listened to it more than all of their past stuff combined. I used to be a little surprised by Arcade Fire's widespread success because the tones of baroque pop in their music made it feel a bit too aimless and dreamy to fully catch my attention, but now that same style feels more focused and successfully pulled off on The Suburbs and results in a very unique and well put together sound. I don't expect Suburbs to dethrone Eminem's five --possibly six by next Tuesday--- week streak atop the Billboard Charts, but I expect this record to sell consistently well for the rest of the year as word of mouth spreads a bit more and I wouldn't be surprised if they're viewed as the biggest name in indie rock by the time 2010 comes to a close.

Arcade Fire's The Suburbs releases next Tuesday, August 3rd and is definitely worth at least one listen through. Here's a few of my favorites from the album: