Arcade Fire

Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Win's kid brother William Butler formed the Arcade Fire in summer 2003. The experimental indie rock quintet, which hails from Montreal, initially began when the elder Butler spotted Chassagne singing jazz standards at a local art exhibit at Concordia University in their hometown. From there, two became inseparable, both professionally and personally. Gathering Parry on organ, Kingsbury on bass, and the younger Butler on synthesizer and percussion, the Arcade Fire fleshed out an eclectic mix of bossa nova, punk, and classically tinged songs. A self-titled EP appeared in 2003. That same year, the band signed with Merge and prepped for their first studio album. During its recording, the band dealt with several tragedies. Chassagne's grandmother passed away in June 2003 while the Butlers' grandfather, swing-era composer/arranger Alvino Rey, and Parry's aunt perished within a month of each other in spring 2004. Heartache had turned into beauty when Chassagne married Win six months earlier. The Arcade Fire's debut album, Funeral, arrived in September 2004 on Merge to almost unanimous commercial and critical acclaim. The group's ambitious follow-up, Neon Bible, arrived in March 2007. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide