This album is masterful. It really is excellent; in almost every song. The screaming(or aggressive vocals)from the drummer and the melodic singing from the frontman are both perfect. Fitting the songs perfectly, they make some decent tracks. Ok, not just 'some'. Most of the tracks on this album are excellent.

The album actually takes at least two listens until you get into it and begin to understand the band. At first you may be led to believe that it all sounds the same. But when you give it a chance, and listen to the songs a couple of times- the songs begin to become more than good. They become excellent. The best songs on the album are: "Red is the new black", "Rookie of the year" and "Junea". Each one of those three songs have excellent vocals and music. The lyrics are amazing too; the band make a good use of the English language.

Their previous albums, "Tales don't tell themselves" and "Hours", were both good but nothing particulary outstanding. Most of the songs sounded the same and the ones that did have a catchy chorous, were almost instantly fogettable. But with this excellent album, the band were obviously at their best. Each song shows the effort they put into making this album. It just makes me wish that they still put out records like this. I'll just have to see what their new album is like.

So in conclusion, if you want a good EMO rock album, check this out. This is FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND at their best. Every song is great- featuring some of the best Vocals, lyrics and overall sound you will ever hear from this genre. So if you like this genre, I definetly recommend that you buy this.

i hate to sound like a spoiled little scene kid here, but after discovering ffaf about 2 weeks after the release of between order and model, and that release, and the subsequent four ways to scream your name ep, soundtracking my growth into an adult mindset, by the time this came out i wanted to cry. at the time i screamed sell out, and looking back, maybe they really wanted (for whatever unimaginable reason) to pursue this softer sound. maybe they were just keen to jump off the already sinking post hardcore/ emo/ whatever bandwagon, i really dont know. but it made me a very unhappy boy. There are a few decent tracks on it, but if youre after something that isnt completely sugar coated and formulaic, then be careful about buying this. and certainly dont go anywhere near the next two lps. A similar thing happened to lostprophets, after releasing a debut most bands would kill for, they go and kill themselves by being eager to please the money men. Thank god hondo maclean broke up before they went the way of their welsh peers.

All in all worth of about 1 and a half stars. Just buy seven ways to scream instead, thats well worth it. (or the two eps)

This was the final entry in my Funeral for a Friend catalogue, having previously bought and fallen in love with the two albums that follow it and the two EPs that precede it. Unfortunately, this is the weak link in that catalogue. It retains none of the energy of their earlier releases, and yet none of the melody of the later material. It lacks direction, it has no feeling (a few tracks aside) and only the four singles (three of which originally came from the earlier EPs) and one further track (the undeniably excellent Your Revolution Is a Joke) really stand out from amongst the dirge for the right reasons. Yet even these tracks pale in comparison to almost all of the band's later and earlier work. Red Is the New Black, one of the band's best tracks to date, has been slaughtered during the process of re-recording, now utilising probably the most unnecessary vocal additions ever made just for the sake of being different. The drumming, while technically good, is incredibly repetitive and really starts to drag by the last track (which actually ends with a drum solo). The screaming vocals lack the impact they had on the EPs, and occasionally feel very forced. Overall the album just seems a bit of a shambles, and an incredibly rushed effort.

Having said that, the songs did grow on me and are generally passable on their own (even if a lot of them, most obviously Bend Your Arms, Storytelling and Moments Forever Faded, do sound very similar and formulaic). Apart from, that is, the last two tracks. These are without doubt the worst pieces of music Funeral have ever created, and really destroy what would have otherwise been an OK album. Novella is ridiculously tedious and drawn out, and is incredibly disappointing when you consider that Escape Artists Never Die, already proven as a good closer on Four Ways, was stuck in limbo at track five this time around. Waking Up is even worse, employing a horrible monotonous guitar line that actually makes my ears hurt, to the point where I actually feel sorry for the thirty seconds towards the end that are actually decent ("I'll walk until my feet are bleeding") simply because they got stuck in the middle of such an awful song.

For further evidence of how much weaker this is compared to other Funeral releases, just compare how they begin. Between Order and Model: a thumping, energetic and adrenaline-fuelled opening track sets the pace for the best four-track release I have ever heard. Four Ways: a single note and the sound of a guitar being plugged in develops into a storming opening motif. Hours: the guitar sound slowly creeps in before being met with a thumping drum beat, in an opening that never fails to send shivers down my spine. Tales: melodic choir-sounds before the band bursts in show that this is a very different album, but no less impressive. And finally, Casually Dressed: a standard rock riff with very little impact is joined by slightly muffled drumming before the vocals arrive. See what I mean? As a previous reviewer has said, this record gives off the overwhelming impression of a band simply going through the motions.

My conclusion on listening to this album is that, at this stage of their career, Funeral for a Friend were simply not ready to record a full-length album. They just didn't have twelve songs good enough for it, and an extra six months or so would surely have yielded a far superior effort. It speaks volumes that the two worst tracks from the EPs are among the best on this album (Escape Artists and She Drove Me), despite being almost entirely unchanged. The three B-Sides from the single releases are also far better than most of the tracks here, which is not how it should be. I find it hard to believe that there are people who criticise the band's later work for being too media-friendly, when the bulk of this album is far guiltier of this. It was here that they bowed to the pressure of releasing a marketable, uninspired record, here that they missed the mark, and here that they reached the low-point of their career. I have the utmost respect for the band, but this album has "quick buck" written all over it. I can only be thankful that they rediscovered their huge potential by the time Hours came along.

Casually dressed is FFAF's finest CD, apart from their EPs. this album has at least 5 world class songs. they combine melodic guitar with emotional singing and this combination works perfectly. This is a must buy CD and you won't be disappointed.

following on from four eps comes this debut and what a debut and before i move on,i must say that some people are angry that some songs from their eps didnt make it here,such as kiss and make up,10.45 amsterdam conversations,this years most open heartbreak and so on and yes i agree those songs would have helped this album but its still a super album,and one that metal hammer gave 9 out of 10 too upon its release so i think we know that this is good.
Released in 2003 when emo was stronger than a cage of buffalos,this is one of the finer releases,granted it was less screamo than their eps but its a more intelligent gathering of songs with more heartfelt moments and more melody than they ever produced before.
The albums strengths lay in the variety in the songs,rampaging riffs,dual vocals,momenents of intense melodies,a ballad thrown in,sombre songs,uplifting songs and overall very strong chorus' that have you singing along without fail.The album is packed with singles and songs you all know such as rookie of the year,bullet theory,red is the new black,juneau,and she drove me to daytime television and more besides.
I have seen funeral for a friend live a good few times now and i dont think they are world class as a band live,however on record they are tight sounding,focused and obsessed with bringing a melody to the surface,some say they sold out here,to me they just became a better band.