Arcade Fire

Best of 2011: Gigs

The best gig of 2011, including Remember Remember, St Vincent, Arcade Fire and Group Inerane

13 Dec 2011

Remember Remember and Miaoux Miaoux The Planetarium, Glasgow, Sat 8 Oct We don’t tend to throw about words like ‘spellbinding’ and ‘mesmerising’. But for a gig that asked us to lie back and gaze at the stars, while laptop wizardry and shimmering…

Arcade Fire win Polaris Music Prize

Music Gossip

20 Sep 2011

Arcade Fire have won the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for their third album 'The Suburbs'. The group beat off stiff competition from the likes of Destroyer, Hey Rosetta! and Colin Stetson to bag the coveted award, which recognises Canada's best album of…

Arcade Fire - The Castle, Edinburgh, Thu 1 Sep 2011

Band's enthusiasm helps suck in swirls of Edinburgh spookiness

16 Sep 2011

Any band gigging at Edinburgh Castle is going to feel a sense of occasion. Arcade Fire more so than most. Frontman Win Butler, his wife Régine Chassagne and the rest of the Montreal outfit are obsessed with the fragility of the modern world. Playing in…

Arcade Fire play biggest ever UK show

Music Gossip

1 Jul 2011

Arcade Fire performed their biggest ever UK show in London's Hyde Park last night (30.06.11). The US group were the latest band to take to the stage at the outdoor venue - which has already seen performances from Kings of Leon, The Killers, Bon Jovi…

Arcade Fire's near death experience

Music Gossip

1 Jul 2011

Arcade Fire once nearly died on stage. The Canadian group - who played their biggest ever UK gig in Hyde Park last night (30.06.11) - had a terrifying experience when they performed during a Paris thunderstorm last summer. Speaking to Absolute…

Arcade Fire find music 'hard'

Music Gossip

30 Jun 2011

Arcade Fire find making records "hard". The 'Suburbs' hitmakers always strive for perfection, and admit it can be taxing reaching their own expectations, but they always want to be true to themselves. Frontman Win Butler said: "Every record…

The top albums of 2010

LCD Soundsystem, Washed Out, Robyn, Errors, Arcade Fire

17 Feb 2011

LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening (DFA/ EMI) James Murphy and co’s last album also features one of the year’s most tantalisingly misleading album intros. It’s over three (very mellow) minutes into ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ before the proper beats…

Arcade Fire planning new material

Music Gossip

16 Feb 2011

Arcade Fire are working on new material. The Canadian group - who picked up Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (13.02.11), and International Album and International Group at last night's (15.02.11) BRIT awards - have confirmed they hope…

Arcade Fire overwhelmed by Grammy triumph

Music Gossip

14 Feb 2011

Arcade Fire were overwhelmed by their shock 'Best Album' Grammy win. The Canadian indie group were the surprise winners of the biggest award at last night's (13.02.11) Grammy celebrations in Los Angeles, leaving them almost lost for words. Upon…

Arcade Fire don't want fame

Music Gossip

13 Feb 2011

Arcade Fire don't care about being famous all over the world. Despite their huge popularity, the band still feel as though they "don't belong" in the mainstream charts and can't understand why so many other bands are preoccupied with getting…

Arcade Fire blasted as 'not good people'

Music Gossip

2 Feb 2011

Members of Arcade Fire have been blasted as "not good people" by filmmaker Vincent Moon. Although the director recently completed a tour documentary about the 'We Used To Wait' group called 'MIROIR NOIR', he now says he wasn't impressed by their…

Arcade Fire and Foals lead NME Awards nominations

Music Gossip

25 Jan 2011

Arcade Fire and Foals lead nominations for the 2011 Shockwave NME Awards. Foals are up for four of the night's biggest awards: Best British Band, Best Live Band, Best Album for 'Total Life Forever' and Best Track for 'Spanish Sahara'. They also pick…

Coldplay pushed by 'brutal' producer

Music Gossip

16 Jan 2011

Coldplay are working with a "brutal" producer on their new album. The 'Viva La Vida' hitmakers started writing their forthcoming fifth album with Brian Eno, but he suggested they also draft in someone else to help them edit their work, which led to…

Arcade Fire expected to fail?

Music Gossip

23 Dec 2010

Arcade Fire think people expect them to fail. The 'We Used To Wait' band were nervous as to the reception of their third album 'The Suburbs' - which was well received commercially and critically - and said they are always wary of keeping in…

Arcade Fire grateful for album-loving fans

Music Gossip

18 Dec 2010

Arcade Fire are grateful to have not had "one pop radio hit". The 'Suburban War' group enjoy the fact their fans relate to their music as a whole rather than attending their concerts just to hear one particular song. Frontman Win Butler said: "We…

Arcade Fire build albums to last

Music Gossip

15 Dec 2010

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler hopes the band's latest album doesn't end up becoming a "memo". The 'We Used To Wait' hitmaker said he appreciates in the digital age how easily records can bypass people, and hopes the band's latest album 'The…

Arcade Fire - unlikely contenders for one of the world’s biggest bands

The Suburbs cements solid indie rock credentials without compromising bleak vision

30 Nov 2010

Arcade Fire are, on the surface of it, unlikely contenders to be one of the world’s biggest bands. Thirty-year-old singer-songwriter Win Butler, his wife Régine Chassagne and the rest of the Montreal eight-piece produce songs of spiritual yearning and…

Arcade Fire and Plan B lead Q Awards

Music Gossip

17 Sep 2010

Arcade Fire and Plan B lead nominations for the Q Awards 2010, with three nods each. The Canadian group are in line for Best Act In The World Today, Best Album for their third effort 'The Suburbs', and their track 'We Used To Wait' is up for Best…

Arcade Fire's future in doubt?

Music Gossip

17 Sep 2010

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler isn't sure how much longer the band will continue. The singer and guitarist said he doesn't see himself being in a band and touring in a decade's time, because he's worried he'll be too old. Win, who has released…

Arcade Fire worried for audience

Music Gossip

1 Sep 2010

Arcade Fire are worried about being able to "connect" with fans when they perform at arenas on their present tour. The Canadian alternative group said they are conscious of losing the intimate atmosphere of their shows by playing in larger venues…

Arcade Fire's dark songs

Music Gossip

3 Aug 2010

Arcade Fire's new album comes from a "darker place". The group have just released 'The Suburbs' and admit they can't understand some of the comparisons that fans have made to the record's predecessor 'Neon Bible'. Drummer Jeremy Gara said: "To me…

Arcade Fire releases their all-important third album

The Suburbs is a rewarding and solid LP.

30 Jul 2010

History dictates that many rock greats affirm their credentials upon their third album: Radiohead’s OK Computer, U2’s War and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run all follow this pattern, and Montreal’s six-strong Arcade Fire aren’t so far from these ranks…

Arcade Fire have 'artistic' nature

Music Gossip

28 Jul 2010

Arcade Fire want to be as "artistic" as possible with their music. The indie rockers - who are set to headline at this summer's Reading and Leeds festivals - are happy to record and release their tracks digitally, but they also like to produce an…

Arcade Fire's compulsive challenge

Music Gossip

7 Jul 2010

Arcade Fire found recording their new album difficult because they are "so compulsive" about getting everything right. The group's frontman Win Butler - who is married to fellow band member Regine Chassagne - said despite having to cut down the…

2010 preview: Great expectations

7 Jan 2010

Favourite things are ending, exciting things are beginning and old things are coming back. 2010 is already shaping up to be a thrilling year and here are the 30 good reasons why we can’t wait

Best of a decade: Music

2 Dec 2009

Arcade Fire – Funeral, The Knife – Silent Shout, Radiohead – Kid A, Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago, The White Stripes – White Blood Cells, Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To…

Belle Orchestre

Instrumental orchestral rock comes to Glasgow

21 Aug 2009

Instrumental band from Montreal with a shared history and sound to Arcade Fire, though Bell Orchestre go for a more epic glacial sound. Not surprising when you realise they share three members and recorded their debut album in the same studio and at the…

Nurses - Apple's Acre

14 Aug 2009

(Dead Oceans) Another outfit to emerge from the burgeoning Portland, Oregon scene, Nurses (aka songwriters Aaron Chapman and John Bowers) unravel album #2 – their debut was 2007’s Hangin’ Nothin’ But Our Hands Down. Lying somewhere in between Of…

Final Fantasy to play in Glasgow

23 Jul 2009

‘I play a lot of instruments,’ Owen Pallett attempts to convince us, ‘but none of them very well.’ Come off it. You don’t get to become the orchestra and string arranger for Arcade Fire’s Funeral and Neon Bible albums – at the same time helping to…

Tennent's Mutual promises a more inclusive approach for Scots music fans

24 Apr 2008

Following the announcement that this year’s Triptych festival will be the last, Tennent’s lager has revealed its latest venture, The Tennent’s Mutual. In a move to make music fans active participants in the all-new project, interested parties will…

Hitlist - The best rock, pop, jazz & folk

18 Oct 2007

• LCD Soundsystem James Murphy (pictured) is no stranger to these parts and this welcome return visit comes hot on the heels of their Stateside tour supporting Arcade Fire... Barrowland, Glasgow, Mon 22 Oct. (Rock & Pop) • Arcade Fire... who, luck…

Arcade Fire - album review

Arcade Fire

27 Feb 2007

ROCK (Rough Trade) A million albums later, Arcade Fire show up dazed, dusty, but acutely aware that their magic is currently more potent than almost any band on the planet, and this, their second album, is what will propel them to global…

Grapevine - showbiz news

Grapevine

16 Jan 2007

Worst casting decision of the fortnight (month/year/decade/trillennium) must be the one which has placed Mike Myers in the plum role of Keith Moon for the 2009-bound biopic of the Who drummer See Me Feel Me... That crazy blazing squad Arcade Fire are…