More about: Funeral For A Friend

Funeral For A Friend are just one of those bands you can’t shake. You take a look at your throwback noughties post-hardcore playlist or browse through the photograph books of when you first discovered anything alternative...and around every one of those corners, Funeral For A Friend are waiting in the wings of your own history.

Like a flicker of your memories and imagination, Funeral For A Friend made their return in 2019 following a three-year hiatus after supposed swangsong record Chapter & Verse. With their comeback, they brought with them more chances to dance when you just may have thought a few years ago there wouldn't be any more of those sacred chances to savour. But Funeral For A Friend down at the Electric Brixton brought those opportunities in heavy doses of nostalgic post-hardcore, delivering a five-star service in the process.

Just like the stage set up—drowned in the bands unmistakable ‘05 album artwork Hours—tonight's set-list would rely on Funeral For A Friend revitalising the material that made them frontrunners of energising the blend of emo, post-hardcore and metal they brought with them back in ‘02. They bound on stage to openers ‘All The Rage’ and ‘Juneau’, two tracks designed for a 1,500 strong singalong that revels in the early emerging days of FFAF. “Welcome to the party,” perfectly summarises vocalist Matthew Davies-Kreye, as a post-hardcore party for the ages unfolds over the course of an eighteen-song set-list. 

Perhaps one of the most standout moments from the show is the crowds' outpouring of passion for every single song being performed, whether it be the air punches and fist pumps to a song such as ‘Streetcar’, or the mosh pit that opens up on Davies-Kreye’s request during ‘The End Of Nothing’, or the level of faultless synchronicity the crowd find during ‘Red Is The New Black’. All in all, if there is one thing a second sold out show down at the Electric Brixton would never do is slack on energy. The room is electric in its atmosphere for these post-hardcore heros. 

That vibe continues into closer ‘History’. Euphoria and elation sweep the sea of those raising their fingers for the last salute, as the song goes. Earlier on in the band's set, singer Matthew Davies-Kreye elaborates on the difficulty and complexity for sometimes “taking a moment for the purity it has”, but the moment on display here during ‘History’ and throughout Funeral For A Friend's set couldn't be any more pure if it tried. 

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More about: Funeral For A Friend