10 Underrated Albums By Huge Bands

If Arcade Fire’s critical stock has fallen a little of late, they remain one of the biggest bands of the modern era. With a sense of destiny and scale, they swiftly transcended the indie landscape and became full fledged megastars with massive songs that fill festival grounds and stadia alike.

Their best record, though, is one of their smaller, and least appreciated. Sophomore effort Neon Bible had a tough act to follow in the universally acclaimed Funeral, and the band made the wise decision to shift things up just enough. The title track, "Windowsill", and “My Body Is A Cage” see the group ditch the anthem-rock for something more mysterious and dark. The former, especially, is a total outlier, a creepy little number that ranks among their best.

This restraint makes the big tracks even bigger. “Intervention” might be their most grandiose song yet, with Win Butler singing at fever pitch over shrill strings and backing vocals. And "No Cars Go" is a real winner, with a sense of momentum and freedom they’d take onto their hugely successful - but far less interesting - follow up, The Suburbs.