Funeral For A Friend - Tales Don't Tell Themselves
Release Date: May 15, 2007
Record Label: Atlantic
After busting out on the American post-hardcore scene in 2003 with the aggressive Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation, the Welsh quintet Funeral For A Friend have slowly yet progressively changed their sound from screaming and post-hardcore to more of a rock and roll vibe. The transformation began with 2005’s major label debut, Hours, and has been fine tuned on their latest release, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. A complete 180 from Casually Dressed and more focused than Hours, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves serves as a concept record about a fisherman lost at sea and trying to make his way back home.
“Into Oblivion (Reunion),” the first single, begins the album very dramatically, with sampled strings and beautiful echo of a female voice. It then cruises into a nice guitar riff and welcomed by Matt Davies soaring vocals. And that is exactly what this song does; it soars and is very anthem-ish. “The Great Wide Open” is a rocker that rips through and through, and “The Diary” has that pop element to it that could make it a nice single. “On A Wire” could be seen as a power ballad, as the chorus and bridge are very emotional.
The band really picks up the tempo with the joint tracks, “All Hands On Deck – Part 1: Raise The Sail” and “All Hands On Deck – Part 2: Open Water.” Part 1 is the one of the more aggressive songs of Tales, never taking its foot off the pedal. The final minute of the song is especially rousing with rising and poignant strings, which lead into Part 2 very nicely. While not as aggressive as Part 1, it is just as hard-hitting. It’s obvious after a few listens that these tracks are the turning point of the album.
After the “All Hands On Deck” couple, the second half of the album is much more lively than the first. “Out Of Reach” is probably the fastest track on the album and it really showcases the drumming skills of Ryan Richards. “One For The Road” and “Walk Away” are uplifting songs and work together nicely building up to the album’s closer, “The Sweetest Wave.” A beautiful song, it begins with Davies singing over minimal strings and quaint piano keys, picks up the pace frantically halfway, and finishes very climatically. Six and a half minutes in length, this song is a new highlight in Funeral For A Friend’s career, showing how far the band have progressed and matured since their early days.
Tales Don’t Tell Themselves is a very interesting album, as it spans many different musical dynamics and vibes throughout. It’s nothing like their earlier work, which will displease older fans, yet fans of the direction FFAF began to take with Hours will dig this. While at times the album can be slow, perhaps even boring, during the first half, the “All Hands On Deck” couplet and second half of the album more than make up for it. The guitar work shines as well on the album, as Davies played guitar on the album for the first time ever, joining Kris Coombs-Roberts and Darren Smith on several tracks.
To conclude, I would say Tales Don’t Tell Themselves will be one of the biggest “grower” albums of 2007. Many fans may be turned off initially, but if you give it more time, you will come to love it. At first I wanted to write this album off as I did with Hours, which had good intentions but was poorly executed. Instead, Funeral For A Friend improved on that sound and have released a fine concept album, as it’s a Tale you don’t want to miss out on. It has grown on me like crazy after a few listens, and Tales Don’t Tell Themselves may turn out to be the pinnacle album in Funeral For A Friend’s career.
The sound of this band has changed so much. Whenever a heavy band writes a softer album, people say they have matured. Honestly, my first impression: They are totally just getting more radio friendly with each album. While I found much in Casually Dressed... that interested me, everything since has just been bland and has failed to capture me as an audience. I believe I saw them live right around the release of Casually Dressed and they were phenomenal live but I just cannot see how these new songs would give way for such an energetic performance.
I probably will check out the last half of the cd, but I was definitely disappointed by the first half. Good review.
I never really liked Hours all that much...it somewhat dissapointed me. I'm yet to listen to Tales... but i'm hoping its sound is different. Good review Drew.
The sound of this band has changed so much. Whenever a heavy band writes a softer album, people say they have matured. Honestly, my first impression: They are totally just getting more radio friendly with each album. While I found much in Casually Dressed... that interested me, everything since has just been bland and has failed to capture me as an audience. I believe I saw them live right around the release of Casually Dressed and they were phenomenal live but I just cannot see how these new songs would give way for such an energetic performance.
I probably will check out the last half of the cd, but I was definitely disappointed by the first half. Good review.
Agreed on all accounts. I loved 7 Ways to Scream Your Name, but I've since lost all interest in the band.
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