This is probably one of the most quiet, unassuming releases of a highly-anticipated album ever. Now in all honesty, I don’t frequent alternative music press much nowadays. So I don’t get bombarded with the same old drivel in Kerrang! telling me how I have to check out X band and Y album for six months before the thing even drops. Nonetheless, as a Funeral for a Friend fan, I knew they were recording a new album, but there seemed to be a lot less fuss, a lot less care about studio album number four from the Welsh boys. That was until I saw it in HMV around two weeks ago, and it suddenly recaptured a certain part of my mind that hadn’t really surfaced since the first time I listened to ‘Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation.’ The album which in my humble opinion they’ve never quite matched for ingenuity and raw passion.
Understandably, there’s a lot of expectation on this album. There’s a generation of fans who feel the kind of intimate link with this band that others could only ever wish to emulate. The massive connection bodes a sense of purpose to the likes where these guys will stick by Funeral for a Friend through a lifetime and the subsequent timeless eternity. There are of course those who really couldn’t care less if it’s bad, yet would proclaim it to be the best thing since sliced bread if it were good. So, I hear you ask, how is it? Good, probably beyond good at a push, but you have to give it time. There is a lot to put right from previous album ‘Tales Don’t Tell Themselves’, but by the same reckoning there is a lot to build on. There’s a new energy about Funeral for a Friend in this latest offering. Some feeling that a band, who 18 months ago were tired of touring, seemingly on their collective death bed. This album delivers on every promise ever made and pulls the punches like a beautiful love child of all their previous efforts combined. If you liked any of their previous albums, you’ll find a lot to like here, if you liked more than one of their previous albums you’re gonna love this. Finally, most specially, if you’re one of the kids who live and breathe by Funeral for a Friend and you’ve loved all their previous albums; you can die happy, throw out whatever’s clogging up your CD player (unless it’s also Funeral for a Friend) and get this album in there right now, I guarantee you’ll be listening for hours on end.
So what makes this so much better than ‘Tales Don’t Tell Themselves?’ It’s simple. Energy. Urgency. Funeral for a Friend have recaptured their youth and the kick that endeared them to legions of loyal fans from the very first EP. Opener ‘Rules and Games’ sets the tone brilliantly, the epicness of the chorus portraying the legimiate marriage between the heavy and melodic. The beauty in ‘Memory and Humanity’ is how well it all co-ordinates and synges together, almost seamless. Follow up tracks ‘To Die Like Mouchette’ and ‘Kicking and Screaming’ follow suit before you even realise you’ve just lost the best part of ten minutes, gone, but not wasted. Even ‘Constant Illuminations’ is far from painful, and personally for me it’s one of the weaker tracks, but still killer.
What I really love, and I think what gives Funeral for a Friend masses of credit is the diversity they squeeze in, without ever sounding like it’s forced or anything less than Funeral for a Friend should be. ‘You Can’t See The Forest For The Wolves’ is a prime example, kicking off acoustically, becoming heavy and distorted then kicking into the most awesome chorus I’ve heard in a long time. For me this is the high point of the album. ‘Building’ comes in with lighters in the air gusto, departing in such a good spirit that it leaves you smiling uncontrollably. Don’t rest on those laurels, the much more uptempo ‘Beneath The Burning Tree’ is a class act and hits you in the right place at the right time, bringing ‘Memory and Humanity’ back to life for a second wind. One which sees out the album on a wave of emotion and passion through ‘Someday The Fire...’ and ‘Waterfront Dance Club.’ ‘Charlie Don’t Surf’ is sweet as it is slightly tainted in a dim of life affirming lyrics, “and it took so long to find all the answers through the lies.” It’s as understated as it is epic, and perfectly executed once more. ‘Ghosts’ provides one more full throttle send off before ‘Constant Resurrections’ introduces its melodramatic tone to the party. Both beautiful and slightly unnerving, it’s the perfect compliment to fit the entire album. It brings to conclusion one of the better albums I’ve heard in a long time. Funeral for a Friend have finally fulfilled all that promise which has dated back to their first EP. Having finally found the perfect balance of energy, emotion, passion and an undeniably awe inspiring songcraft, they’ve managed to create an album which warrants the massive status they’ve developed throughout the years. Funeral for a Friend have got it spot on this time, if this is to be their final outing in a full length, it’s the most perfectly fitting finale for such a band. Brilliant, hard working, and amazing to the very end.
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Funeral For A Friend- History
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Funeral for a Friend - Memory and Humanity
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