Earlier this month, Red Fang announced their new album, Arrows, the only way they know how: with a music video replete with sword-slashing badassery and some hilariously gory mishaps. The Portland quartet aren't rolling out the record's second single with the same level of cinematic pageantry, but "Funeral Coach" doesn't really need it.
The rollicking cut is another heaping pile of fuzzy stoner rock from one of the most reliable institutions in their genre. Whereas the previous single, "Arrows," had a pendulum-like rhythm and a gigantic "woah-oh" chorus, "Funeral Coach" moves at a faster clip, jostling between straight-forward gallops and some unusual rhythmic patterns that give it a slightly more technical flavor. Find steady footing and then listen above.
The song's somewhat abstract lyrics touch on themes of mortality, and vocalist-bassist Aaron Beam said his inspiration came from a morbidly humorous encounter with a funereal vehicle. "I was driving around and I saw a hearse that said, 'funeral coach services' on the back," Beam said in a statement. "So the first thing that popped into my head was a dude with a headset and a clipboard going, 'Alright, dudes — more tears! Five minutes in is when the tears are critical, or no one's gonna believe that anyone cares that this person died.'"
Arrows is Red Fang's fifth album and it's due out June 4th via Relapse Records. Many of the limited-edition bundles have sold out, but there are still some snazzy physical pre-orders available on their webstore.
