The awards keep stacking up for Montreal's Arcade Fire, which walked away with the best album prize at the Shockwaves New Musical Express (NME) Awards on Wednesday night.

The band, which won for The Suburbs, previously scooped the best international album title at last week's Brit Awards.

Days earlier, the popular Canadian indie group had beaten out some of the biggest names in the music industry today to take the coveted best album category at the Grammy Awards.

Arcade Fire was unable to attend the NME ceremony at London's O2 Academy Brixton Wednesday because the band is working on a new album. However, they sent a video acceptance speech.

"We really wish we could be there to celebrate," said frontman Win Butler, joking that the band was working on jazz-inspired album.

Arcade Fire found itself in the midst of controversy this week after a high-profile attack made by music industry veteran Steve Stoute, who published his criticism in a full-page ad in the New York Times.

Stoute argued that the Feb. 13 Grammys telecast — which ended with The Suburbs, the band's third album, claiming the award show's final prize — was a "series of hypocrisies and contradictions."

He added that organizers had "lost touch with contemporary popular culture."

Calling Stoute's letter a "nice piece of self-publicity," Arcade Fire manager Scott Rodger wrote in response this week that the group "deserved the win this year. They made the best album."

"Arcade Fire are now one of the biggest live acts in the world," he added. "It's not all about record sales."

Meanwhile, U2 used the NME awards ceremony on Wednesday to confirm it would headline the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm on June 24.

The band was to have headlined the 2010 edition, but had to drop out after Bono injured his back. U2's appearance at the 2011 festival had been rumoured for some time, but the band officially confirmed it Wednesday night.

Guitarist The Edge made the announcement in a video speech shortly after Glastonbury won the trophy for best festival.

With files from The Canadian Press Back to accessibility links

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