Despite its eclectic appropriation of sounds, Fucked Up is most basically a hardcore punk band. The band’s latest, David Comes to Life, makes this jarringly evident: throughout the album’s 78 minutes, there are few moments when the listener isn’t literally pummeled with sound.
Those expecting the kind of indie rock epic–ry implied by the concept (David Comes to Life is a four–act rock opera about love gained and lost in a British light bulb factory) will inevitably be disappointed. But, in its juxtaposition of hardcore music and indie rock sensibilities, Fucked Up’s latest is one of the more innovative albums of the decade thus far.
Yet innovation can be difficult, and David Comes to Life most definitely is. Due to its tremendous length, the band’s third full–length is the rare punk album that will challenge some attention spans. And at this length, the band’s commitment to punk can be limiting — it’s hard to create a cohesive work while drawing on a single genre whose emotional make-up is, by nature, 90 percent anger. David Comes to Life is most easily digestible when considering the work act by act (each of the four acts consists of four or five songs, and each conveys a succinct narrative and musical arc).
The first act — clearly the album’s most accessible — opens with the anticipatory drones of “Let Her Rest.” As the introduction, it is the only song with a relaxed rhythmic structure, which leads well into the propulsive “Queen of Hearts.” Thanks to vocals by Jennifer Castle (of Castlemusic) “The Other Shoe” is the work’s melodic height. This sense of melody seems to be lost later, on the album’s second and third acts, when the songs become more emotionally monotonous. Yet for all their punk aggression, there is some truly beautiful guitar work at play in these acts. The band focuses on guitar interplay instead of more traditional riffs, which allows them to transcend the most familiar pitfalls of their genre. When Fucked Up reverts to more conventional guitar work, such as on “Ship of Fools,” the overwrought aggression can feel kind of silly.
On the fourth act, the band finds a catharsis in the album’s scope — especially on closer “Lights Go Up,” which contrasts simplistic punk lyrics with a medley of guitar riffs and several layers of backing vocals. The album’s end is indicative of why it works so well — Fucked Up is never afraid to be corny, or cloying, or emotionally one–dimensional. And though David Comes to Life is sometimes all of those things, it never ceases to be interesting.
4/5 stars
Fucked Up David Comes to Life Sounds Like: The angriest love affair we’ve ever head Good For: Coming to life, catharsis
