Funeral Party - The Golden Age of Knowhere (2011)

Tracklist

01. New York City Moves To The Sound Of LA
02. Car Wars
03. Finale
04. Where Did It Go Wrong
05. Just Because
06. Postcards Of Persuasion
07. Giant
08. City In Silhouettes
09. Youth & Poverty
10. Relics To Ruins
11. The Golden Age Of Knowhere


“It's all been done before and it'll all be done again,” Funeral Party sing on the band's debut album, The Golden Age of Knowhere. Indeed, what they're doing isn't exactly new: the band's sound borrows from two big early-2000s trends, dance-punk and emo. On the brash album-opening “New York Moves to the Sounds of L.A.,” they like stirring up the culture war between those cities almost as much as they like fuzzed-out bass, shouty vocals, and cowbell. At times, they recall a less abrasive (and less inventive) Blood Brothers, particularly on the close harmonies and serrated melody of "Car Wars"; the raspy yelps and jumpy rhythms on “Just Because” channel the Rapture or even early Hot Hot Heat. Elsewhere, “Finale”'s swelling choruses and gang vocals capture emo's earnestness, while “Where Did It Go Wrong”'s crooning is vaguely reminiscent of the Smiths and "Postcards of Persuasion" has a whiff of post-post-punk à la Interpol to it. What makes this lack of a clear aesthetic and originality forgivable is Funeral Party's ample energy and their way with melodies and hooks that stick. They may not have as much depth as their influences, but at their best, their shiny surfaces are a lot of fun. However, the band makes the mistake of putting all of The Golden Age of Knowhere's barn-burning songs at the top of the album, letting their emo - as in emotional - side overtake its second half. Unfortunately, they haven't quite mastered ballads the same way they can sell rockers, and songs like “Giant,” “Youth & Poverty,” and “Relics to Ruins” feel a bit soggy compared to the highlights here. Funeral Party try for - and just miss - an epic closing statement with the album's title track; ultimately, they're more convincing as snotty dance-punk agitators than they are as rousing everymen.

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