Funeral For A Friend presents a half-hearted return to their roots on their fourth studio album Memory and Humanity.

What was promised by drummer Ryan Richards as a five track EP evolved into a full-length album, but probably would have been more successful had it been the originally mentioned EP.

There is a trend among these bands, that once they get signed to a major label, their sound changes entirely. Leaving Ferret Music and signing with Atlantic, FFAFs’ sound progressed with 2005’s Hours, and hit a snag with their last album, Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. Memory and Humanity was supposed to be the definitive FFAF album. It certainly isn’t. The album isn’t garbage, but it’s certainly disposable.

The lyrics have severely downgraded from the bands debut to where they are now. Once harsh and biting personal lyrics dredged up from the soul of Matthew Davies-Kreye have been replaced by hooks and catchy choruses that would be hard to discern in a lyric lineup.

The main difference in the lyrics on Memory and Humanity is Davies confidence. While before he knew the things he was singing about: love, loss, heartbreak and death, here he is asking questions. The existence of god and his purpose to our existence is a major theme. On “Maybe I Am?” Davies states: “Maybe I’m an atheist/What if there’s no god/Waiting to meet me/At the end of the working week?

“Building” would have to be the stand out track on this album. Accompanied only by guitarist Darran Smith, Davies sings “Waiting for god to come around/But he never comes around/He never comes around.” There is such a desperation and loneliness in Davies voice that the song will haunt the listener. That is, until the next song starts, because for some reason the incredibly introspective “Building” is followed by the upbeat, fast-paced “Beneath the Burning Tree.”

FFAF can’t seem to decide who they want to be with this disc. The band had said that this album would contain harsh vocals mostly reminiscent of their debut album Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation. What is delivered is fairly generic post-hardcore that one would hear on the radio.

Even the artwork looks strange, like something one would find on a Coheed and Cambria cover, not a Funeral For A Friend album.

Their first single “Kicking and Screaming” sounds like a watered down cover of a band FFAF desperately wants to sound like: Funeral for a Friend, circa 2001.

The Welsh hardcore band made their debut in 2001 amidst the likes of Poison the Well, Senses Fail and Thursday. What made them stand out from their contemporaries were their deeply personal lyrics delivered by Matthew Davies’ and his passionate vocals.

That level of passion is missing from Memory and Humanity. Davies used to not be able to contain himself in his vocals. If he felt he needed to scream, he screamed. If a certain word needed more emphasis, it got it. Here, it seems as though he has become a caricature of his former self.

Casual listeners will most likely enjoy the album, but might be surprised if they work backwards through the bands discography. Fans of the band and the genre in general will find the disc enjoyable, but ultimately disappointed in the direction FFAF is taking with their music.

On “Someday the Fire”, Davies asks “The pleasure stops/Why does it have to stop?” Funny he should ask.