Funeral For A Friend

Item: Four Ways To Scream Your Name
Rating: 9
Author: V

Four Ways To Scream Your Name (2003)

V

The same old songs on a brand new stereo. That seems to be the theme for this album, and while I'm not really too sure if they were implying that they were revolutionaries or not, it seems to be an accurate term. Their third release "Four Ways To Scream Your Name," is easily one of the best offerings of 2003, and I've found it extremely hard to replace in my stereo since the label sent me an advance in February.

These Welsch pricks are special, and I'm sure they're very aware, as they boast their skill (like it's the head cheeleader around their arm, while you sit there moping on the sidewalk) -all- over their biography, which happily resides on their website. The songwriting techniques they tend to use the most are similar to that of Glassjaw and Finch - except the way they do it is probably 15 times better.

The leadoff track "This Year's Most Open Heartbreak" is hands-down the best song I've heard this year (outside of Rise Against's "Black Masks and Gasoline). It's nearly captivating in presentation; melodic and catchy at times, but hard enough to keep you hitting your fellow listeners long after the song's abrupt end - which is damn well how it should be.

"She Drove Me To Daytime-TV," the album's 2nd track strongly smells of Beautiful Mistake and Filmmaker, while "Kiss and Make-Up (All Bets Are Off)" is like mixing the harmonics of Brand New with the backround thrashing of Glassjaw or Outsmarting Simon. "Escape Artists Never Die," the album's closer easily rivals Thrice for best melodic hardcore song I've ever had the privilege of listening to. It's chorus is so infectuous it hurts, the guitars scream 80's metal solos (but in extremely short bursts) and the drumming is perfectly proportioned - not too much double bass, not too much cymbal - and it compliments the vocals better than anything I could ever hope for.

Overall, this is a must-have for anyone who appreciates the mere concept of mixing melodic vocal structures with the menacing, manic guitar styles of hardcore. While I'm sure you all own at least 10 albums from this genre, I doubt more than 1 or 2 could even hold a candle to this one. Do yourself a favor and check this band out - before they blow up in your face and make you sit there and scrub their feet for a living.