Now after their last album, Funeral For A Friend have well and truly taken over. They have ventured where very few UK bands have before in breaking the US market and have played headline shows all over the world and have created a sound that seems to have become the emo/screamo blueprint for many other bands to follow. ‘Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation’ was a great debut album but sophomore album is always a difficult release and has been a hurdle where many have stumbled in the past. So before ‘Hours’ was released Funeral did a lot of press and did what many other bands do and said that their new album boosted a more “mature” sound, so lets see if ‘Hours’ backs up that statement.

Songs like ‘All The Rage’ and ‘Streetcar’ get FFAF off to a blinding start and with more of an emphasis on singing rather than just screaming in the typical areas, it really showcases the band at their best. ‘Streetcar’ is probably my favourite song on the album and really is the perfect choice as lead single and I’m sure will result in a fair few people picking up this album. Funeral also show their melodic side with songs like ‘Drive’ and ‘History’ which are both great slow songs put especially on ‘History’ where Matt Davies’ voice sounds amazing singing lyrics like “and bleed this skyline dry, your history is mine”. The amazing guitar riffs come back though in songs like ‘Recovery’ and ‘The End Of Nothing’ which actually sees the first bit of screaming on the album although there isn’t much which definitely shows the conscious change in style for the new album. ‘Alvarez’ is another great song that really shows a band that has grown and although it isn’t as poppy as a lot of the songs on the last album, it works. The album ends on ‘Sonny’ which is another amazing slow song which has an awesome electronic drum beat in the background along with an amazing guitar part is a brilliant way to finish a great album.

In my opinion Funeral For A Friend really haven’t changed that much but ‘Hours’ does definitely showcase a more mature band. The songs aren’t as poppy and they seem to have totally abandoned the textbook screaming at the end of each song which is a good move in my eyes because Matt Davies has an amazing voice and it sound be used to sing. That doesn’t mean that they have totally gone in a different direction though, ‘Hour’ is still an album full of melodic hooks and some mighty guitar riffs. So if you’ve ever liked anything Funeral For A Friend have released before then you should definitely pick this up as songs like ‘Streetcar’, ‘All The Rage’ and ‘History’ are essential listen and you never know, ‘Hours’ could just end up being the soundtrack to your summer.

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