Funeral for a Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves
Grievances are few and far between as Tales Don’t Tell Themselves is the band’s most complete work to date.
Welsh emo-rock act Funeral For a Friend have done a little soul searching since their last public outing; 2005’s jagged Hours. Seemingly bogged down by the desire to expand their sound while at the same time hesitant to break free from their harder, more scream-laden, post-hardcore early days, the album was a mish-mash of the more abrasive sounds that permeated their superb Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation and the more expansive auras of stadium-filling rock. Now after a recording session punctuated by some early tensions, Funeral for a Friend have finally captured the anthemic atmosphere they’ve long sought after.
These jams, these tales that don’t tell themselves, are in every sense of the word- epic. It’s all soaring choruses belted through vocalist Matt Davies’ operatic voice and crunching melodies that have been put through the rigors of major label scrutiny like no previous album has- making Tales… sound ever so close to being flawless in almost every production criteria. The album’s lead track (and single) is their coming-of-age tale “Reunion (Into Oblivion).” It is a near perfect opening salvo as Funeral for a Friend get comfortable with their songwriting grace and now more contemplative outlook. The song’s synthesizer-based introductions, coupled with its orchestral arrangements are definitely a preview of what’s to come. Songs like “One For the Road” and “The Diary” show a far more complete FFAF; more mature sounding, and more accomplished in their ability to craft a more streamlined album. The moments in Hours that seemed out of place, or lost amongst the rock-oriented tunes are all but gone now.
However, if you had to take away something from the album, it would be the rather subdued nature of the effort as a whole- far less urgent than what we’ve previously seen. From the piano-driven closer of “The Sweetest Wave,” to the beat-friendly “Walk Away,” there is a great deal of sadness in the tone of the album- part introspection, part melancholy- that while is great for unity, takes a little away from vital urgency.
Nonetheless, grievances are few and far between as Tales Don’t Tell Themselves is the band’s most complete work to date- more concise and less intent on experimentation as it is in honing in on a given direction. It is a terrific example of a band finding themselves in their music, and digging deep to find focus and precision.
(Atlantic Records)