A Lesson In... 09.29.09 Funeral For A Friend
Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 09.29.2009
With a Greatest Hits-type collection released just yesterday in the UK, Funeral For A Friend are taking another step in their short but eventful career. Join Alistair McGeorge for A Lesson In... the Welsh post-hardcore, including first impressions of yesterday’s release!
We're back for the last A Lesson In... of September...which really isn't significant. However, last week's column on Smash Mouth did come a day early of being 3 months since I started writing for 411mania. It's definitely been a great experience so far, and here's to continuing to bringing you the careers of a range of bands, hopefully some that you may not have been into before reading.
STOP!
It's banner time...
So, thank you for joining me again, and a big welcome to any new readers I hope to have picked up. Usually, I'd use this space to ramble a bit, briefly discuss this week's band before moving ahead to replying to some feedback on the last column. Disappointingly, for the third week running we've get nothing to respond to, so I'm scrapping the "feedback" section from now on, and I just won't mention it until things start to pick up again. Next week I've got a big band planned, so hopefully that'll help give us a boost.
Anyway, instead of ranting or rambling about nothing in particular, I'm a bit more focused this week. I've been trying lately to expand my musical tastes, particularly trying to educate myself in pop-punk, American-style original punk and ska. Somehow, bands like The Vandals and Goldfinger totally escaped me, until now. Many of the bands I listen to and respect were inspired in some way by both, so it's quite shameful that they were off my radar for so long.
The joys of Spotify mean I can basically bring myself up to date with practically any band, and so I had a good listen to Goldfinger last night. I have to say, I hate that I've only just got into them, not least because they played a festival I was at last year, and I foolishly missed them. Besides the catchiness of their music and vocals, they seem to have a knack for writing humorous lyrics as well. Whilst they're best known in the mainstream for their cover of "99 Red Balloons", this is the song that stood out most to me last night (no, not from personal experiences...I wish)...
A bit of a departure from that, this week's band are a post-hardcore/emo/alternative rock quintet from the UK (Wales, to be precise). I'll admit early on, I'm a huge fan of this band (I'll be seeing them for the 4th time on October 10, 5th if we include the few songs I caught at a festival this summer, having to miss the rest of the set to catch someone I hadn't seen live before), so at times I may sound biased. However, just wait until we get to 2007 if you want a bit of complaining.
Aggressive vocals, early beginnings…
Funeral For A Friend formed back in 2001, and by August 2002 had deal with Mighty Atom Records, and their debut E.P. released on that label. Between Order and Model was made up of just four tracks, but all would become big live favorites with old-school fans of Funeral For A Friend. The credited line-up on the record was made up of Matt Davies (later Davies-Kreye) on vocals, Darran Smith and Kris Roberts (later Coombs-Roberts) on guitars, Gareth Davies on bass guitar and Ryan Richards on drums and "aggressive vocals" (the FFAF term for "screamo").
Andi Morris (bass guitar) was thanked in the original issue of Between Order and Model, along with Matthew Evans (aggressive vocals) and Johnny Phillips (drums). These three recorded the respective parts for the E.P., but left the band at various times around this era.
This E.P. is almost a Holy Grail for FFAF fans, in that it contains some fantastic early material. "Art of American Football" and "10:45 Amsterdam Conversations" are fan-favorites for the earlier followers, and "Red Is The New Black" and "Juno" would be re-recorded for the band's debut full-length album. For the sake of comparison later on, here's a look at the early version of what would later be re-named "Juneau"…
The next year, Four Ways To Scream Your Name was released as the band's second four-track record. Made up again of two songs which would be rerecorded for Funeral For A Friend's debut, it also contained two tracks which again are favorites of older fans. "This Year's Most Open Heartbreak", "Kiss And Makeup (All Bets Are Off)", "She Drove Me To Daytime Television" and "Escape Artists Never Die" made up the track-list, with the latter two being re-recorded for the debut album. Unfortunately for many fans, it is now incredibly hard to get hold of. Mid-2003, Funeral For A Friend made their first impact at the Kerrang! Awards, beating The Darkness for Best British Newcomer, when The Darkness managed to win all other categories they were nominated for.
Over the summer, the band would head into the studio to begin recording their debut album. A move to Ferret Music would lead to this first full-length, and the beginning of FFAF's rise to the top…
We'll start a fire…
Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation was released on October 20, and was co-produced by the band and Colin Richardson (Slipknot, $Bullet For My Valentine and Machine Head, amongst many others). It managed to peak at #12 in the UK Album Charts, and has since been certified Gold. NME (my least favorite magazine in the history of music) actually gave the album 8/10, and placed it at #17 on their Albums of the Year feature, so maybe they can do something I agree with once in a while after all?
Three singles were released from Casually Dressed…, all to very similar success. The second single was a double A-side of "She Drove Me To Daytime Television" and "Bullet Theory", which peaked at #20. The third and final single (released in 2004)- "Escape Artists Never Die"- fared marginally better at #19. The first single from the album also hit #19, and was a re-recording of "Juno", now named "Juneau". Here's a look at the new version, to compare it with the earlier "aggressive vocal" one…
Although I only got into FFAF a few years later (with the release of their sophomore effort), this is one of my favorite albums of the 4 full-lengths they've released so far. From the aggressive "Novella" to the great gig-closer in "Escape Artists Never Die", it's a brilliant album that could be credited with inspiring many of the post-hardcore bands around today (Fightstar, to name one example off the top of my head). It also had a beautiful acoustic "ballad", "Your Revolution Is A Joke". For anyone that thinks FFAF are just emo and screams, I couldn't encourage you more to listen to this song to see a very different side to the lads.
The album led to some extensive touring, including some European support dates with metal gods Iron Maiden, a great achievement for the band when you consider the huge gap in name-value and musical style. The debut album wasn't released in the United States until 2004, so it was promoted at this point by an E.P. entitled Seven Ways to Scream Your Name (which did see a UK release). Featuring select tracks from FFAF's first two four-tracks, it was made up of 6 songs from those, plus "The Getaway Plan", which was a b-side to "Juneau".
So why, why should I stay?
Hours, Funeral For A Friend's second full-length album, was released on June 14 2005 on both Ferret and Atlantic Records, seeing the band's first U.S. Billboard 200 appearance. In the UK, it went Gold in the same number of weeks at Casually Dressed…, and peaked at #12.
Four singles were released over 2005 and 2006 to promote the album, the first and most successful being "Streetcar", which peaked at #15 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's most successful single to date. "Monsters" was the next release, but only peaked at #36. It did, however, have a great b-side in the form of a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back In Town".
Peaking at #21, "History" was the third single from the album, and has since become a live staple for FFAF and their fans. Anyone who has had the pleasure of experiencing this band live will agree that a sea of people with two fingers raised in a "peace" sign singing "Archers in your arches/raise your hands for one last salute" is a moment of comradeship and unity that adds a little something to the gigs.
In 2006, "Roses For The Dead" was released as the final single from Hours, and whilst being (in this writer's humble opinion) one of the stronger tracks on the album, was the lowest charting single. Whilst it's generally included in set-lists rather than "Monsters", and is seen as a fan-favorite, it peaked at #39, being the band's lowest charting single at this stage in their short careers. Here's a look at a video of that song…
The album helped Funeral For A Friend and moved them onto bigger things. After winning the Best British Newcomer prize at an earlier Kerrang! Award, they won the Best British Band in 2005, before heading back on tour. Joining bands like Atreyu, The All American Rejects, Bowling For Soup and Avenged Sevenfold on the 2005 Warped Tour, the band also played the prestigious Reading and Leeds Festivals for the second time.
The summer of 2006 saw the end of their touring for the album, culminating in a festival slot at the widely respected Download Festival, with a slot below headliners Guns N' Roses (but not really, because it's more Axl Rose and Friends now, if we're honest). Following the tour, writing and recording began for FFAF's third studio album.
On May 7 2007, the first single from the upcoming album was released, called "Into Oblivion (Reunion)". The video was debuted two months earlier on the Zane Lowe Show on Radio One. Here's a look at that:
Where does the crow fly?
On May 14, Tales Don't Tell Themselves was released on Atlantic Records. The album managed to peak at a fantastic #3 in the UK Album Chart, going Gold and selling 25,000 copies in its first week. "Into Oblivion (Reunion)" just missed out on being FFAF's highest charting single to date, falling one short of "Streetcar" at a still very solid #16. "Walk Away" was the second single from the album, becoming the lowest charting single of FFAF's careers, peaking at #40.
Tales… is a concept album, and the band's most ambitious to date. That said, it's seen by fans as their weakest material, and is largely disregarded by most older fans. "Aggressive vocals" don't make an appearance really, and whilst the guitar style is similar at times, FFAF went for a more "epic" feel with this album. In an interview I did with the band a year ago for my university magazine PR1, Kris Coombs-Roberts said that the band didn't really set out to write a concept album, but they did what they always go: "Get in a room and play, and see what comes out".
The band have gone with the fans' opinions on this record; "Into Oblivion (Reunion)" is the only track from it regularly played live (although "Walk Away" was played on the album's supporting tour).
On October 15, a special E.P. release came out entitled The Great Wide Open. Originally intended to be a single (of the title track, taken from Tales…), it was expanded into a mini live album. The first track is the title track, and the mini-album is then made up of a 9-track gig that the band recorded in August 2007 at the Barfly in London. Rather than just being a regular live album, the set-list is made up of the first two EPs, making it a very special release for fans.
The band planned to release a short E.P. by the end of the first quarter of 2008, with Ryan Richards commenting in January of the same year that it would be closer to Casually Dressed… than the last two albums, containing aggressive vocals and heavier riffs.
After writing more material than initially planned, the release was changed to a full-length, and pushed back. By July 2008, a double A-side single was released, made up of two tracks off the upcoming album ("Waterfront Dance Club" and "Beneath the Burning Tree"). The second single followed this in August, when "Kicking and Screaming" was released. It peaked at a disappointing #116 in the UK Singles Charts, but there was a lack of strong promotion for it. By October, the new album would finally see the light of day…
Give me something to believe in…
Memory and Humanity saw the light of day on October 15 2008, and I was delighted to pick it up on its release day. It reached #17 in the UK Album Chart after selling 10,000 copies. In the U.S. and Canada, it was released on Victory, the worldwide release was on Roadrunner, and FFAF's own new label Join Us distributed the album in the UK.
In the U.S., it hit #44 in the Independent Albums chart, and peaked at an impressive #6 in the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers chart. The last single from the album was a UK download-only release, "Rules and Games". I was going to say here that it was one of the low points of the album, but realized… Memory and Humanity doesn't really have a low point. It certainly has its absolute highs though. Here's a look at a live version of the haunting "Building"…
It was announced a month before the release of the album that long-time bassist Gareth was leaving the band, due to the strain of traveling from his home in the States, particularly with being newlywed at the time. He was replaced by Gavin Burrough, who I had the pleasure of interviewing on his first tour with the band, which began the week of the album release.
We're gonna move on now to the band's most recent release. So recent, in fact, it came out yesterday (Monday September 28) here in the UK. I bought it a few hours after it was released, came home and wrote this final section to make sure it was completely up to date. See, aren't I kind?
Your History is Mine…
I won't bore you with too much opinion on this release, because I'll be checking in with a full review over the next week (so keep an eye out for that!). Anyway, Your History Is Mine: 2002-2009 came out yesterday, with single and 2-disc versions (plus an iTunes one with 4 demo bonus tracks…I bought them as well).
As far as collections go, this is extremely well put together. The first disc contains 16 songs, spanning the entirety of the career of Funeral For A Friend, including four brand new tracks (described by the band as an E.P. within a ‘greatest hits'). Two tracks off the early EPs are included, four off Casually Dressed…, three from Hours, just two from Tales… (thankfully, although it had its moments) and "Kicking and Screaming" is the sole track from Memory and Humanity to make the cut here (which makes sense, with it being a very recent release).
The second disc is the real gem of this release, though. It's made up of twenty rarities and b-sides, ranging from covers of bands like Thin Lizzy and U2, through to a great acoustic version of "The Art of American Football". For any FFAF fans thinking this is a release purely for new fans, the four new tracks (including new single "Wrench") and this fantastic collection of b-sides all in one place should be enough to convince you to buy it.
Grading…Funeral For A Friend
I don't know what else I can really say that I haven't said throughout the column. I absolutely love this band, and almost everything they've released. The only point I went sour on was Tales Don't Tell Themselves, but that's more because it just didn't feel like Funeral For A Friend. That said, it had some great moments, and doesn't affect the live show too much because songs from that album are kept to a bare minimum.
Whilst the studio albums and releases are fantastic enough, it's the live shows where FFAF really shine. It's all about the fans, with their upcoming UK tour being a testament to that; the set-list will be voted for by fans. I've already voted, and the way it works is you select your Top 15 songs from the band's entire back catalogue (save for the four new songs), and the songs with the most votes will be played!
Anyway, that just about does it for this week's lesson, and it's time to give you the clues for next week…
Homework
1. On their new album cover, they pick apart nature.
2. Can you break the code?
3. You can probably guess what business they're in...
A bit easier this week, but hopefully you'll all be joining me at the same time next week for another lesson. I've been Alistair McGeorge, and I leave you with the new video from Bowling For Soup. As a warning, it's not really safe for work…
