The Funeral March
It All Falls Apart
Self-Released
Having recently lost bandleader Joe Whiteaker to cancer, Illinois’ The Funeral March sign off with their final recordings, ‘It All Falls Apart’. Joe was able to give his approval to the final mixes and judging by opening track ‘Stars at Night’, he was right to be proud. Having cited Bauhaus, Cure, and Joy Division as influences, there was always an English bent to the band’s sound that conjures images of grey, leaden skies and weathered, lichened gravestones and that’s exactly the aesthetic ‘Stars at Night’ brings. With Ria Aursjoen adding ethereal guest vocals, it has an otherworldly vibe that emanates from beyond the thin veil that separates this world from the next. The four diverse tracks (plus four remixes) which comprise this release all share a dark vibe and the emotion with which they are delivered is given added weight by the circumstances in which they were recorded. Goth is often described as the genre that won’t die and ‘It All Falls Apart’ will bestow immortality upon The Funeral March.
Review by Peter Dennis