'Hours' of enjoyment

A year ago I found out about the British badasses known as Funeral for a Friend by way of the Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation LP and Seven Ways to Scream Your Name EP and you could color me impressed. With a fresh pop sound mixed with European melodic metal conventions and hardcore mentality, FFAF have a unique style and approach that is reconfirmed on their sophomore release, Hours.\n"All the Rage" opens up the disc with guitar feedback and drum fills before going into their trademark melodic pop riffs while singer Matt Davies carries on his soaring clean vocals. The second track, "Streetcar," is the first single, which after a few rings of a telephone sample goes into metallic gallops from guitar duo Kris Coombs-Roberts and Darran Smith before melodic acrobatics ensue throughout the song's chorus. \n"Drive" and "History" offer a nice laid-back approach as the band leaves metal mode and offers up slower riffs, acoustic interludes and angelic choruses. You could probably call the songs "emo-esque," but FFAF is far from being emo. \n"Recovery" is the standout heavy track on the album but surprisingly enough singer Davies never heads into screaming territory on this track or really any track on the album. There is screaming here and there on Hours but nowhere near as much as the amount found on their previous releases. "The End of Nothing" keeps up the speedy guitar acrobatics before going into the scream-filled breakdown with Davies growling "You and I will die alone tonight/You and I will lie alone tonight."\nUnfortunately, not every song is a winner on Hours. "Alvarez" becomes a bit repetitious after a few riffs with the last minute being the song's only saving grace. Album closer "Sonny" strays into Linkin Park-esque nonsense as the song's entire structure revolves around techno beats and echoing, undistorted guitar notes. For an album that has so much energy going on in the past ten tracks, the closer ends up being boring and should've been left off the disc. \nThe disc has bonuses as well in the form of enhanced CD content. You get the video for "Streetcar," which rocks, and an FFAF screensaver. If you buy the CD at Best Buy, you also get a bonus on-pack CD containing one extra song called "You Want Romance?" The song is pretty good but far from essential listening. \nFuneral for a Friend avoided the sophomore slump by making an album worth listening to and keeping the same energy and musical sensibilities that worked the first time around. While the album closer is crap, I can forgive them for trying something different. Granted the summer already has big releases from the likes of Coldplay and the White Stripes, but don't let Funeral for a Friend go under your radar. I'm listening to Hours on a regular basis and so should you.