Funeral is an epic song cycle about exiles large and small, and it's roof-smashingly dramatic, with crescendo piled upon crescendo and frontman Win Butler hollering his convictions to the world. Any fist that doesn't shoot up in the air at "Rebellion (Lies)" should be examined for defects. 

 The album is a moving a document of what it felt like to be young and scared during the Bush Era, and though Win Butler sounds spooked, the core septet – accompanied by strings, brass and a choir or five – never sounds defeated, or even close.