Search - Funeral for a Friend :: Memory and Humanity

It's all about the song.....

RichNY | New York | 01/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...and this album is full of them. From the fade in on "Rules And Games" to the fade out on "Constant Resurrections" I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite. The sign of a great album.

One thing I like about FFAF is that there's no real leader, no ego's. They play as a band, for the song. Kris and Darran weave their sonic tapestries, Ryan and Gareth hold it all down and Matt puts the melodies on top. I do have to mention the progress of Matt's vocals. With every album he gets better and better. Listen to "Between Order And Model" and "M and H", I'm amazed at the difference, it seems like two different people. Also, the more you listen to the album, Ryan's drum fills start to hit you, something I noticed on "TDTT" also. He doesn't have to bludgeon you.

I can't believe there's only one review of this album here. Maybe it's a backlash against their last album (which was also brilliant), "Tales Don't Tell Themselves", because there wasn't any screaming on it. What was on it were great highly addictive songs with big melodies and bigger chorus's.

"Memory And Humanity" builds on that, but with a rawer, looser overall feel, thanks to up and coming producer Romesh Dodonaga(sp?). To me it feels that the band has really found their sound now. The perfect combination of melody and aggression that combines everything as far back as "Four Ways To Scream Your Name" and through to "TDTT". To me, this is Funeral For A Friend, this is their sound. There's a looseness and a certain confidence that you can just feel coming out of the grooves.

Song wise, you can't ask for much more. There's something for everyone here. There's riffs aplenty and they never forget the song. I think that's what drew me to this band in the first place. On top of everything there's always a great song, and that's the bottom line to me.

Listen to the album a few times and you'll find yourself walking around humming the chorus for "To Die Like Mouchette", "Maybe I Am?" or any song on the album. In fact it will get so bad, that you might find yourself waking at night with the songs stuck in your head. I kid you not.

If it's brutal stuff you're looking for, it's here also. "Constant Illuminations" and "You Can't See The Forest For The Wolves" fit the bill. The latter song has my favorite lyric on the album. "Television tells me one thing, brain tells me something else, bull**it never had any intelligence". Great lyrics, so true.

Check out "Charlie Don't Surf", which to me wouldn't have been out of place on U2's "The Joshua Tree". More brilliant lyrics in this one too. "Scorecards for everyone, you wear them out to dress.."

Reviews are like those "scorecards", they aren't worth anything. Do yourself a favor and just listen to the album. You'll thank yourself in the morning.

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