Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Matador, 6/7/11)
Fucked Up: “The Other Shoe”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Fucked_Up_The_Other_Shoe.mp3|titles=Fucked Up: “The Other Shoe”]The latest from punk sextet / “social experiment” Fucked Up is another unexpected turn in an unpredictable career — an 18-song, 80-minute post-punk epic that tells a four-part narrative. David Comes to Life is far and away the band’s hardiest release to date. It’s a punk-rock marathon that plays into punk’s short attention span but that also demands patience, particularly when piecing together a narrative that shifts perspectives.
Musically, Fucked Up continues to come into its own, albeit with shades of The Who and other beloved practitioners of the rock opera. The band’s triple-guitar attack remains as aggressive and quasi-psychedelic as ever, but the gruff shouts of front-man Damian Abraham here are commonly backed by “real singers” whose softer intonations provide a pleasant contrast. The album’s 18 tracks have a tendency to blend together, but they benefit from their full-throttle delivery.