Arcade Fire's Best 5 Tracks

Charlie Ireland
Apr 10, 2016
2 min read

Arcade Fire are very much similar to Marmite, in a sense. You either love them, or you hate them. And yet whilst I dislike Marmite with a passion, it's safe to say I LOVE Arcade Fire. So, as for this, I set myself a small challenge - to hand-pick Arcade Fire's best 5 tracks. I didn't anticipate for it to be as hard as it turned out to be, but boy, wasn't it just.

5. We Used To Wait Track 13 on 2010 album 'The Suburbs', 'We Used To Wait' is a massively underrated Arcade Fire track. It's an epic 5 minutes of music. Nothing less. It's forever building, changing its identity as you delve further in. From opening with a soft piano instrumental, to closing in epic cinematic fashion; We Used To Wait really hasn't been rewarded with the legacy it deserves.

4. My Body Is A Cage 'My Body Is A Cage' is just one of those pieces of music, one of those where you become gripped by the lyrics. One of those where you feel captured, and as though you've been taken away and made to forget all of what you already know. "My body is a cage, that keeps me from dancing with the one I love, but my mind holds the key" Win repeats, as Arcade Fire glide their way through a thunderous, incredible track.

3. Afterlife In total contrast to 'My Body Is A Cage', number 3 on my list, 'Afterlife', just makes you want to get up, dance, and have a whale of a time. Track 5 on Disc 2 of latest album 'Reflektor', it's the complete feel good record. "Can we, just work it out, scream and shout, to work it out" is repeatedly exclaimed by Butler, as he and co groove their way through a simply awesome 5 minutes of music.

2. Wake Up Now to have this track at number 2 will surprise many a few I'm sure, but I feel it's justified. 'Wake Up' is the song that even if you think you've never heard of Arcade Fire before, you would have heard. It's undoubtedly incredible, from beginning to end. The iconic "Wo-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh"'s have shaped many a fan's love for Arcade Fire over the years (myself included), and there can simply be no questions as to why. It's a true great.

1. Rebellion (Lies) 'Rebellion (Lies)' is exactly why I feel my decision to leave 'Wake Up' in second place is justified. It's just a mind-blowing piece of music from the very start, with the opening drum and bass beat combo that builds up throughout, leading on into the closing cries of "woo-ooo-hoo-ooo-woo-hoo-ooo-ooo"; Rebellion is a constant wave of an epic nature, and you can't help but sing (scream/shout) along with every word. It is without doubt, in my opinion, Arcade Fire's best track.