- Audio CD (13 Oct 2003)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: CD
- Label: Infectious Records
- ASIN: B0000DD997
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 28,084 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Review
Few bands, let alone ones from Bridgend in Wales, have generated such expectation with their debut album. Funeral For A Friend, however, have effortlessly garnered unprecedented acclaim from all quarters for the handful of releases that bear their name.
And so the question is poised - does their debut album prove worthy of the hype? Well, the answer is a resounding yes! Opening with "Rookie Of The Year" - all guns blazing, crunching riffs and sideways lyrical introspection - there are fewer, better ways to kick-off your album career.
Former single "Bullet Theory", surely their most auspicious offering to date, really gets the foundations rocking. Riotous, cascading riffs see Matthew Davies morphing from floppy-fringed kid in the corner to guttural rock menace. Very stadium, very cool.
The excellent "Juneau" affirms the heaped reverence some more - sing along and smash along in equal spades. "Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings" swoops into more mellow territory, whilst still managing to clatter along with FFAF's fairly unique take on pop-metal.
Cynics will see Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation as a thinly veiled, token alternative gesture in a greasy and over crowded marketplace. FFAF, however, have more than a few aces up their sleeves to dispel this. "Escape Artists Never Die" is sublime - emotional, laden with riffs and spunky metallic endeavour, while "She Drove Me To Daytime Television" offers the ideal hybrid of calculated noise and stomp along choruses.
When ditching the rock for acoustic reflection, caution could be advised, as the strings accompying "Your Revolution Is A Joke" seem awkward amid the overall fury. This is soon rectified with the slow burning cacophony of "Waking Up Inside My Own Paralysis" and the chaotic mentalism of the closing "Novella" amply eclipse any weaknesses.
Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation is worth anyone's while, and will be remembered as an astounding and bold debut. Own this album and steal your little brothers' friends for listening buddies.
Review courtesy of BBC Wales Music --Jack Smith
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Album Description
Welsh quintet Funeral for a Friend have been making waves in the music press with their combination of melodic, heartfelt emo and powerful, intense hardcore rock. Their debut album, Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation, includes the breakthrough singles "Juneau" and "She Drove Me to Daytime TV".
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My first real experience of Funeral for a Friend was their set at the 2003 T in the Park festival, and I must say I was a little underwhelmed. Most of the songs seemed a little formulaic, based around the Thursday approved formulae of melodic vocal/screaming/big riff/end. Well what can I say - where did it all go right?! This album deserves to stand along with Hundred Reasons' "Ideas Above Our Station" and Hell is for Heroes' "Neon Handshake" as one of the great British emo albums.
The fast paced opener "Rookie of the Year" is a superb start, closely followed by brilliant recent singles "Bullet Theory" and "Juneau"; the latter a masterclass in post-hardcore riffery, the former a menacing yet soaringly melodic track.
After such a storming start, you could expect and forgive a slight dip in quality with the subsequent tracks (for the record, Hundred Reasons were particularly guilty of this). However, Funeral for a Friend only go and pull out the greatest track on the album, "Bend Your Arms to Look Like Wings", a song which is as near perfect as this genre of music can get.
Indeed, the only song which dips below top quality is the rather Funeral-by-numbers "Waking Up", although this may reflect badly due to it following on from the immensely affecting acoustic "Your Revolution is a Joke". And that's not even mentioning the metallic crunch of "Red is the New Black", or the stunning breakdown of "She Drove me to Daytime Television" (great title).
Funeral for a Friend had a lot to live up to, being touted as Kerrang's Best New British Band. And they lived up to it. Oh yes.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I bought 'Casually Dressed...' after hearing Juneau on the TV, not expecting anything amazing but an album that was entertaining to fill up my minidisc a bit. When i listened to it through the whole time i was blown away. As a fan of heavy music from bands such as Slayer and Pantera and also softer bands like Staind and Incubus, FFAF's album was absolutely PERFECT for me. It combines very musical and melodic songs such as 'Bend your arms to look like wings' with heavierish songs such as 'Rookie of the Year' i loved it.
On the technical side most of the songs are composed of a backing guitar with another one riffing over the top to create a deep, musical feel to most of the songs. This coupled with amazingly heart wrenching lyrics, for example the slow part of 'Escape Artists Never Die' where he repeats "Please someone help me, I'm dying here in front of you". The only song that drags the album back slightly is 'Your Revolution is a Joke' as it is a very soft, acoustic song and seems out of place in the midst of the rest of the songs. That's just my opinion though some people may disagree.
This is a fantastic album if your into emo, with my personal favorites being 'Rookie of the Year', 'Bend Yours Arms to Look Like Wings', 'Moments Forever Faded'. I've still got the whole album on my minidisc and it will stay there for a while yet! Highly reccomended!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A fantastic debut by the Welsh quintet, Funeral For A Friend (FFAF) really brings together metal, punk and post hardcore emo into one exhilarating album.
Melody, aggression and pure emotion are one of the many words that spring to mind when listing to FFAF and the album includes new versions of the popular tracks "Juneau" and "Red Is The New Black" which featured on the bands first ep of two: "Between Order And Model"
Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation has been acclaimed by critics everywhere and the music industry has already hailed FFAF as the new Nirvana. Many fans of the band think that the music has been commercialised for the album, but amazing tracks such as "Bullet Theory" and "Rookie Of The Year" show that FFAF have retained the aggression that they are now well known for.
Most tracks on the album are full of energy and emotion, but this is balanced out by "Your Revolution Is A Joke" a surprising acoustic addition, which really showcases the lead singer's phenomenal vocals and adds a much needed breather toward the end of the album.
All in all it is a commendable debut and a definite buy. FFAF are band to watch out for in the future because I foresee very little slowing down this wave of incredibly talented musicians.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Raw and full of meaning
FFAF's best release by a long shot. It's downhill from here. If you like Funeral' then just get this and watch your step on the others... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ian Morris
One Of The Best EMO Albums Ever Made
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... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2008 by S. Harris
Funeral jump the gun with a premature full-length release
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. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2008 by U-Mos
Mind Blowing
Casually dressed is FFAF's finest CD, apart from their EPs. this album has at least 5 world class songs. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2007 by K. Han
class debut from the bridgend boys
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... Read more
Published on 19 July 2006 by sean paul mccann
Amazing!
I bought this as my first FFAF album, and it was truly amazing. Every song is 4 or 5 star on my iPod, and i have listened to it every day since i got it last week. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2006 by Maria Vinall
One of teh best albums i've got.
This album is absolutely brilliant. AWesome lyrics, awesome singing, awesome instrumentals, awesome songs. ffaf are one of my favourite bands ever. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2005
Awesome album... shame about copy protection
I got this album a while ago, and it rocks... FFAF are one of the best emo bands out, and they have a great sound. Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2005 by Gary Bryan
Great music, awful copy protection.
These guys are fantastic, playing a Grade influenced brand of melodic hardcore with a high level of skill, genuinely a band to be reckoned with in coming years. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2005 by T. Carne
superb!
this album is a must have! first time i heard juno i was blown away the rest of the album is just as amazing. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2005 by "awwwsugar"
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