It's been a good year for Funeral For A Friend. Actually, it's been a fucking amazing year for Funeral For A Friend. Triumphant Leeds/Reading Festival shows, a front cover of Kerrang and several videos gaining a shedload of prime time airplay. If they aren't this years best UK hopes of cracking the US, then they're at least the 2003 version of Lostprophets. (ooh bitchy) Still, with a new album out very soon, they band remixed 'Juno' into 'Juneau' as a taster from the forthcoming record. And the truth is that it's a decent record. The lead single is one of those anthemic singalong tracks, while the b-sides show the band are more than a one trick pony. Of course we could talk about the ethics of why a band would already remix their best song and all that, but I'll leave that til later.
From its opening bars 'Juneau' is destined to be a dancefloor filler in alternative clubs across the nation. It has everything a good catchy post-hardcore song should have - the breakdowns, the riffs, the screams...and most importantly the chorus. And boy does this song have a chorus. It's impossible not to sing along, mantra like, with Matt Davies when he launches into "yet I'm nothing more than a line in your book." I've seen FFAF live and I was impressed - even more so when you get a tent full of kids screaming along to every word. 'Getaway Plan' is a lot more raw than the single, harking back to the days when FFAF sounded rougher than a badger's arse. Without getting all misty-eyed and going back to the olden days of yore when FFAF were brutal and the land was all fields, it does make you think just how good 'Juno' was - all crashing drums and spikey riffs. Maybe it's me but it also seems like Matt Bellamy of Muse is doing some kind of vocal warble - maybe Mr Davies has a hidden talent... 'Kiss and Make Up (All Best Are Off)' is a gem, I think fans don't need me to tell you that. Recorded for Radio 1, it's not the best effort you'll hear, but it showcases a band at the top of their genre. I'll leave you to decide whether it's already over-saturated or not.
'Juneau' is a good song and with this title now out of print, or so I'm led to believe, it's one for the collector nerds. The US 'Seven Ways To Scream Your Name' will surely send the kids the other side of the Pond seven shades of mental, and FFAF may not be the best kept secret they were three months ago. Remixes eh - and I thought it was just Fatboy Slim who would have made a career out of it...
www.funeralforafriend.com
Paul
