"Neon Bible" became Arcade Fire's highest-charting album at the time, debuting on the "Billboard" 200 at number two, selling 92,000 copies in its first week and more than 400,000 to date. Being released within a month of similarly successful releases by The Shins ("Wincing the Night Away") and Modest Mouse ("We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"), "Neon Bible" was cited as an example of the popularization of indie rock. Critics met the self-produced "Neon Bible" with acclaim. Publications like "NME" and "IGN" praised the album for its grandiose nature, while "Rolling Stone" and "Uncut" said that it resulted in a distant and overblown sound.