Funeral For A Friend - Tales Don’t Tell Themselves

…But good music more than able speaks for itself

In the two years since Funeral’s last release, emo has become a runaway success. American bands have cornered the market on sloping fringes and fellow Welshmen The Automatic and Bullet For My Valentine have captured the mood. Just as 2005’s Hours proved that FFAF were more than a scene band, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves reveals them one of the best acts around. Jagged guitar freak-outs have slowly been replaced by huge orchestral sections and layered melodies, and FFAF album number three is infused with a sense of tour homesickness.

Opener Into Oblivion (Reunion) is a massive string-laced ballad, and while most rock bands their age are still faking teenage angst, Funeral are honest enough to sing about marriage. Having handled tales such as the grief-laden Roses For The Dead and the illnessthemed Hospitality sensitively in the past, their new narratives get the same treatment. Many are connected to the sea, where space is daunting and loneliness abounds. Tales... is their most ambitious album yet; no longer emo in a stylistic sense, but in a truly emotional one.

Atlantic | cat no tbc

Reviewed by Eleanor Goodman
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