91Èȱ¬

Released on Swansea's Mighty Atom label, the EP was a remarkable debut - confident playing, striking vocals and some classic songwriting. Indeed, one of the songs, Juno, was later re-recorded and renamed, and put out as their third single Juneau. When the single crash landed into the top 20, it looked to some like an overnight success. But really it was the result of months of hard graft by the band, on the road and in the studio.

Named after the song Funeral For A Friend by Florida post-hardcore group Planes Mistaken For Stars, it's often assumed the band were inspired by the 1973 Elton John instrumental of the same name. Not so. Indeed, it's hard to see a link between diverse South Wales rock and the intro to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

So, what do they sound like? The band members themselves prefer not to be lumped in with emo groups, and opt instead for the simple term 'rock', though that doesn't do justice to their unique pop-tinted fusion of metal, rock and emo.

But does it matter? Their debut album Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation spawned a number of hit singles. The single Streetcar strengthened their reputation further, with the band's second album Hours released in June 2005.

A third album, Tales Don't Tell Themselves, was released in May 2007 and then in 2009 they self-released Memory And Humanity.

In 2010 Funeral For A Friend worked closer with their fans through the Pledgemusic scheme, with the EP The Young And Defenceless with their fifth full-length album, Welcome 91Èȱ¬ Armageddon, due for release in March this year.