The Funeral Portrait drop new single "You're So Ugly When You Cry"
There are exceedingly few things that genuinely take me back to a better time- aka 2004 when My Chemical Romance has just released Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. However, that list grew by one today. The Funeral Portrait’s new single “You’re so Ugly When You Cry” has all the markers of the sweet bygone era that shaped so many of us. With their trade mark ‘My Chemical Romance-esque’ sound, this song quickly got stuck in my head.
Not only do the lyrics lend to the MCR era (you can’t tell me “No more tears the world is ending And all the kids do drugs,” doesn’t sound like it’s from an MCR song), but even Lee Jennings’s vocal pull me right back to my bill-free 2004 life. Even the band's standard uniform of black suits with black eyeliner- smudged, of course- creates a nostalgic feel. While so many of their descriptors are throwbacks to early 2000's, they absolutely have their standout qualifiers.
Whether it's Jennings's neon green hair, their bassist, Rob Weston, holding his guitar in his mouth during their live shows (for some reason this always make me shiver), their band members sharing a little peck every show, or their amazingly ~devoted~ fans, 'The Coffin Crew.' The Funeral Portrait might be familiar, but they are brand new in all the ways that count. The 2000's icons stood out, and still do stand out, for so many because they gave refuge to so many on the outskirts of social norms a place to feel like they belong. Every single song from The Funeral Portraits drips of that with entire sincerity. With their unique sound accompanying an important message of 'you belong,' The Funeral Portrait ushers in a new wave of devoted fans- and many more to come- with this new single.
What made "You're So Ugly When You Cry" even sweeter to me was the addition of The Used’s Bert McCracken vocals on the single. This is no ‘The Bird and The Worm’- this is better. With an unnerving laugh to start his verse, McCracken’s feature on this song lends to an eerie versus which is delightful through back to his earlier vocals. With a few unclean vocals sprinkled over a melody of Jennings’s and McCracken’s voices, this is just perfectly done from so many different angles.
Overall, it didn’t take more than one listen to know that this song is going to be huge for the band in so many ways. After several listens, I can confidently say this is going to get stuck in your head in the best of ways. With many more songs on the way and already out (Listen to “Alien” if you haven’t already), The Funeral Portrait is definitely a band to keep your eyes on and catch them opening while you still can. They’ll be at several festivals this year and have tours coming up as well. Dates below! Grab Tickets Here!
4/24 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
4/25 - Chicago, IL - Cobra Lounge
4/27 - Urbana, IL - Canopy Club
4/28 - Madison, WI - The Annex
4/29 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
4/30 - Columbus, OH - Ace Of Cups
5/2 - Rochester, NY - Photo City Music Hall
5/3 - Pittsburgh, PA - Preserving Underground
5/4 - Brooklyn, NY - Kingsland
5/5 - Vienna, VA - Jammin’ Java
5/6 - Mechanicsburg, PA - Lovedraft’s
5/8 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
5/9 - Greenville, SC - Radio Room
5/10 - Nashville, TN - Cobra Lounge
September:
9 - Lynn, MA
13 - Greenville, SC
15 - Rochester, NY
16 - Elmmira, NY
17 - Leesburg, VA
18 - Mechanicsburg, PA
19 - Hamden, Ct
20 - Brooklyn, NY
22 - Toronto, ON
23 - Erie, PA
24 - Lakewood, OH
25 - Columbus, OH
26 - Indianapolis, IN
27 - Grand Rapids, MI
29 - Joliet, IL
30 - Des Moines, IA
October:
1 - Fargo, ND
3 - Billings, MT
4 - Great Falls, MT
6 - Boise, ID
7 - Spokane, WA
8 - Seattle, WA
10 - San Francisco, CA
12 - Fresno, CA
13 - Anaheim, CA
14 - Los Angeles, CA
15 - San Diego, CA
17 - Las Vegas, NV
18 - Phoenix, AZ
19 - El Paso, TX
20 - Roswell, NM
21 - Lubbock, TX
22 - San Antonio, TX
24 - Houston, TX
25 - Corpus Christi, TX
27 - Destin, FL
28 - Chattanooga, TN
29 - Urbana, IL
30 - Detroit, MI
