The key to a great band is a unique sound. Many accuse the post-hardcore/pop-punk/emo bands of being indistinguishable from one another and there are a few who break the ceiling of expectation. Funeral For A Friend do have a distinct tone and Welcome Home Armageddon! is yet another solid groove in their studded belt.
After the meandering lull that introduces This Side Of Brightness the band launches into calculated the fury and energy underpinning the entire album. Front Row Seats To The End Of The World, Spinning Over The Island, Owls (Are We Watching) and the title track have tidy and precise arcs and barely does any song overstep its shadow, such as trying too hard with a silly chorus or disjointed bridge. The only major issue with the entire album is the fact that the sound hasn’t strayed beyond its bounds.
There is a feeling ultimately that they’ve found a comfortable songwriting space and are circling, trying not to lose altitude. Inversely however, Welcome Home Armageddon! hasn’t helped them rise any higher, and sees them still stuck under a jet wash of the scene’s bigger names.
Best Track: Welcome Home Armageddon!
If You Like These, You’ll Like These: The Inevitability Of A Strange World HALIFAX, Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, We Will All Evolve OUR LAST NIGHT.\
In A Word: Stable
