10 Most Underrated Indie Rock Albums Of All Time

10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Arcade Fire’s debut, Funeral, saw them swiftly become indie’s latest critical darling, and their Grammy-winning third, The Suburbs, thrust them fully into the mainstream.

Their second, among such esteemed company, often fails to get a look in, which is a shame, because it often demonstrates the group’s greatest strengths with streamlined focus.

Neon Bible has the melancholy of Funeral and the anthemic qualities of The Suburbs, but without the latter’s often flattened, overly radio-friendly sound. “Intervention” and “No Cars Go” are stadiu-ready, but complete with daring instrumentation and a sense of worldly weirdness that would be sanded off in albums to come.

The title track is a rare exercise in restraint, shuffling and half-whispered, and “Windowsill” pulls real emotion from the band’s often questionable lyrics. The record starts and ends with two outright explosive rockers, not something Arcade Fire attempt too often; closer “My Body Is A Cage” is a worthy end to the band’s most clearly political album, a roar of frustration from a band ready to take the mantle of worldbeaters.