A thread for the band Fucked Up

I looked really hard for a thread and couldn't find one, so here. What is up with this band Fucked Up? I need some context here.

their new album basically sounds like some chugga chugga midwest hardcore stuff with shouty, gruff vocals...but with crazy strings and weird guitar and woodwind like overdubs on top of it...like if dillinger four went psych...or like pegboy meets hawkwind

it's pretty awesome

I really like some aspects of their sound, and they have a few standout tunes, but I find their albums as a whole very monotonous.

I'm enjoying it. I heard some Husker Du psychedelia, and some Laughing Hyenas too.

I'm enjoying the record myself. Just weird to see a band that clearly has roots in hardcore popping up on Matador with these expansive songs and a preexisting reputation. I know fuck all about hardcore so I'm approaching it pretty blindly. If anyone wants to toss out hardcore bands that relate to this at all it'd be much appreciated.

Last album was better. People slept.

dear harveyw
what do you think of their cover of "Anorak City"?
yours,

"year of the pig" features some of the finest motorik since stereolab was good

i really love the new record

Last album was better. People slept.

― jigglepanda.gif (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, October 18, 2008 6:12 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah for me it was more like i never trust hardcore ppl telling me something is good and the name of the band was so stupid

At this point I've only heard bits of the last record but the new one's gonna be #2 on my year-end list; it's so fucking great. Production-wise it blows the last record away and that's probably half the reason I like it.

Year of the Pig does rule. Def the most krauty thing they've ever done, and maybe thus kinda misleading. I dunno. It pleasantizes their otherwise obstacle-laden singer. Pink Eyes. It's a weird dynamic, cuz he obv so defines the band, and without him they'd be what? Another boring HC/post-rock hybrid on Hydra Head, I guess. But he's also a big part of what makes em kinda monotonous in the long run (like, over the length of a song, sometimes).

Disagree w Whiney that Hidden World is some kinda masterpiece towering over Chemistry. Chemistry's songs are just as good, and the palette is WAY wider - a good thing, IMO. Do like the Les Thugs vibe on Hidden World.

Sort of a weird article about them in the Guardian a couple of months back:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/14/fucked-up-bowery-gig

Was being too hard on Damian above. I'm used to and even like his singing. Love his lyrics. But it took me a long time to get the hang of Brannon-esque angry dad vocals, and they're still not my favorite thing in the world, so the obstacle factor is def there.

a friend of mine calls it "big man voice"

"year of the pig" features some of the finest motorik since stereolab was good

^^^this - really reminded me of Stereolab from the off, ie more so than it reminded me of the obvious 'rocking motorik' precedents. The female BVs have a lot to do with that I guess. I missed this thread when it was started, never seemed like there was enough interest here to justify one but these guys are honestly one of my favourite bands of the last three years all in all. I feel like I'm pretty much past the point of getting 'fanboy' about bands but they approach what they do in a way that really closely appropriates my vague ideals of how it ought to be done, and I guess to a large extent that's what takes me beyond just thinking of a band in terms of making a rad noise. Which they do as well, so that helps

new album sounds like prog mighty mighty bosstones

you sound like prog mighty mighty bosstones

the last seam album also sounds like prog mighty mighty bosstones but in a better way than this.

what i am trying to say is that hidden world is awesome but i can't really get my head around this one.

sweep the leg johnny sounds like prog mighty mighty bosstones

ok now seriously wtf kind of nonsense is prog mighty mighty bosstones?

sweep the leg johnny always reminded me of a chicago post punky oingo boingo

they kind of had an english beat does drive like jehu thing every now and then

a new subgenre taxonomized. you're welcome.

"Epics In Minutes" is a collection of their early 7" material. The fact that every song was recorded at a different time in a different location works in their favour.

Yeah I really gotta pick that up; saw it in the store recently.

Only thing "bosstones" about it are the vocals, and then only kinda. Weak, obvious criticism.

That sounds shitty, but I don't see any merits in the joek.

the vocals, the vocal melodies, the guitar riffs in the first and fifth songs, fine, whatever, i will from now on tailor my criticism to your specifications of obviousness and humor.

i thought it was a funny/kinda accurate.

minus a

the vocals, the vocal melodies

Damian sings like any number of dudes who sing hardcore. Why the bosstones would be the best example I have no idea.

the guitar riffs in the first and fifth songs

If you've got specific bosstones songs you want to cite, be my guest. Otherwise your attempt to throw down the dismissive one-liner has basically succeeded in baffling me.

hardcore plus some other stuff. that's about it, and it's fine.

Adam is only trying to revive ILX's stillborn "ska punk!" meme, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs now

Do like the Les Thugs vibe on Hidden World.

I <3 Les Thugs.

xpost lol yeah i'm going to go to the animal collective thread and say that album sounds like "less than jake on acid"

so yeah they are quite the live act.

They're playing here soon w/ The Bronx. I don't know anything much at all about the Bronx - anyone wanna clue me in?

The Bronx is hardcore band from California (naturally). They are most notable for having one album with AWESOME cover of bloody vampire fang lady mouth that I wish I still had on vinyl. Basically sounds like classik American hardcore with traditional bigman vocal stylings from comparatively tiny man actually on stage, but mix in some anthemic partytime action rock bro moves. Kinda fun to see live, but only kinda. Last saw 'em open for High on the Fire who tore their fucking heads off tore their fucking heads off their fucking heads off.

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/faengz.jpg
main point of this band

Gruff, accessible punk liked chiefly by Drowned In Sound types as opposed to, you know, punks. Not gonna change your life but if you're going to the gig anyway stick around for them

xp

Cool bloods! Thx fellers.

that is an OTM summation of the bronx (contenderizer's, that is). what was really impressive about fucked up live is how they bring the wall-of-guitars sound of the record to a small room. three guitarists and just a huge, huge sound, but you could still pick up a lot of the little details and melodic overdubs.

they're also a funny band visually in that they really look like they have nothing in common with each other. damian is a huge ridiculous guy, the bassist is librarian-chic, the third guitarist looks wicked wicked young (kind of like michael cera playing hardcore), etc. but they're very fun and positive and the music just ruled.

I tried, Fucked Up, but your records just aren't all that. :-/

But I was excited to hear Year Of The Pig based on all the "motorik" descriptions, then I found a used copy today and listened to it and was really disappointed and bored. :-/ :-/ :-/

today just isn't your day

lol, oh it is. The third John Coltrane Impulse Albums box set came out today. Woohoo! And also the new Antony & The Johnsons. anyway...

Also, for once, I didn't despise my country's leader. minor event.

yeah, that was a plus

did the brooklyn show with pissed jeans happen last night? anyone go? would really have liked to see both bands (pissed jeans more so, tbh) but I wasn't really up for being at some fake venue until 2am last night.

The third John Coltrane Impulse Albums box set came out today.

oh sweet i have been wondering where this is.

new song on pitchfork man this is good

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/149009-premiere-fucked-up-year-of-the-rat-stream

NO EPHIPHANEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUH

They won the Polaris Prize last night: http://lookingforgold.blogspot.com/2009/09/polaris.html

(Does anyone in Canada actually give a shit about this prize, by the way? Are all Canadian ilxors just too sensible to hash out a thread every year with 500 posts of people stating how unimportant they think the prize is, a la Britishers/Mercurys?)

dude the polaris prize is awesome, although tbh i only found out that fucked up won from reading your post. but so far they have proven to have pretty awesome and surprisingly weird taste! i love two of the albums that have won (he poos clouds, the chemistry of common life) and yeah that caribou was actually pretty cool. even patrick watson isn't like, awful.

Polaris is gaining stature year by year. This year's ceremony was closer to a proper awards show than ever. I think MuchMusic either televised or streamed it. I was kind of put off by the short list this year. Way to Toronto-centric for me (Great Lake Swimmers, Elliot Brood), but I'm happy to see Fucked Up win. It will help restore some credibility after a couple years of pretty safe picks.

While I don't totally love Fucked Up, I like that they exist and love that they won the Polaris.

GENERAAAAAAAAAAATION!!!!!!!

Here's me thinking they were making a record about the life and death of a pig.

And just as I was about to say so, the thread got locked.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/yotp_cdep.gif

Stranger than fic.

they were one of the most exciting bands at atp last year but otoh if you saw that lineup ~

can someone tell me what the crossover is between 'epics and minutes' and 'couple tracks'?

i don't think there is any actually

Do you mean in terms of if any tracks are on both? Because no, there's no crossover

'Year of The Pig' is about prostitutes in Toronto iirc

yes it is! good track imo

ok thx guys

kind of surprised whenever i realise how long these guys have been around

btw couple tracks is worth actually buying for the liner notes alone.

Really been enjoying "Couple Tracks." I like "Chemistry" fine (and have revisited it a bit lately), but I'm such a sucker for singles comps. The singles are so to-the-point and rockin' that it's a less fatiguing listen (I guess those vocals do wear on me a bit). Love all those twee songs on disc 2.

Christ, this stuff is good. Chalk me up as another one who didn't pay attention due to stupid bandname and record reviews that didn't jibe with my world view...

Ok, nice to see that Aquarius Records puts their finger on one of the reasons I like this so much: aside from the vocals Chemistry is like the 2nd coming of Band of Susans, which is I'm sure totally unintentional. Just can't get enough of those 2-3 chord songs with a billion overtones...

the intro to "Son The Father" is one of the most electrifying pieces of guitar music I've ever heard

Saw them live a couple of weeks ago but they were headlining an all day event so I was plastered by that time and don't remember a whole lot about it, which is annoying. I think I enjoyed myself though.

the album's pretty damn great as well, gonna listen to year of the pig afterwards

An old friend keeps raving about them. He recently wrote me after seeing them after being tempted to an outdoor festival, the sort of thing he avoids on principal, but couldn't resist. The whole of Chemistry is finally clicking with me, after intermittent listens for a few years. It's like if Husker Du kept following the ideas "Reoccurring Dreams" and "Beyond the Threshold" as they moved on, instead of the more traditional rock writing.

It's just crazy that this thread is so short, given that "Crooked Head" is one of the best songs to come out of the '00's. Crazy.

I have come to like this band a lot. Except the vocals.

So I'm getting into the new one, but I think I need a bit of context here. What else should I listen to by this band?

If you like David Comes To Life, I'd say maybe jump back to Hidden World next if you're looking for a relatively straight-ahead good solid record, then go for Chemistry.

If you're more into checking out a wider range of their stuff, the Couple Tracks singles comp could be a good way in.

lol, Whiney using this drivel to bludgeon a real band like The Arcade fire.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-06-15/music/fucked-up-s-bullet-in-a-neon-bible/

You're being ironical, of course.

not even he knows for sure.

no one is shoplifting a 40 and skateboarding behind the Walmart at 3 a.m. to "No Cars Go."

man, talk about damning criteria.

"a 40" -- you music writers just don't drop some shticks, huh?

the really unfortunate phrase in that review is "going off the rails" but oh well this album is still basically the best album ever made

first time I've seen someone ascribe a "tune" to the vox

dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside

dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside
dying on the inside

DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE

this is REALLY embarassing to read!

have no problem with "going off the rails", as that's what pink eyes does, like ozzy before him, but in general: yeesh

Morbs hasn't mentioned in THIS thread that his reaction to Fucked Up is contingent on the quality of the venue in which he saw them, which was shit.

still lol'ing at "real band"

it's like a visit from the ghost of ilm past

Morbs hasn't mentioned in THIS thread that his reaction to Fucked Up is contingent on the quality of the venue in which he saw them, which was shit.

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, June 26, 2011 4:02 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark

tried to find this conversation by post-searching "fucked up", laughed at endless wall of people saying "that's fucked up" in 839275922523 different contexts

lotta shit's fucked up apparently

then i found it w/ the other search function so everyone can rest easy.

I enjoyed reading that apart from 'barfybark' which is detestable even by the normal standards of made up words

no Alfred, the 3 songs I heard were utterly unimpressive, the venue just made it a must to leave.

I'll try to listen to a few studio tracks, k?

I don't love the album -- I can't listen to that kind of unflagging intensity anymore -- but in isolation five or six songs are stunning. I'd suggest buying the record.

well, I don't do that.

Steal it then.

I'm glad I checked out this band in spite of comparisons to fucking Titus Andronicus.

i'm glad i checked out this band in spite of thinking they were titus andronicus

morbs, thought you had heard thm before, werwn't you at that show at southpaw with pissed jeans? anyway I dont love em but they're good at what they do ... it's just not 100% my thing

I completely missed this video, which made me laugh at least twice:

http://www.davidcomestolife.com/

Glad to see that Band of Susans continue to pop up in reviews of FU:

http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16288/reviews/4142870

^that's by me, for the little that it's worth

don't think I've seen anyone else make the link between the two bands though

good review dude

need to listen to this record tbh

really good review,yup

Xpost. Someone at Aquarius Records had picked up on the BoS thing in the past. Can't recall which album review at the moment, but it's online...

band of susans make perfect sense as a ref point for what fucked up have been doing since making the leap to matador. i always go for les thugs as a one-jump comparison, but all three have a good deal in common.

So what do you all think would be the ceiling for this band if they had a good, melodic singer?

The music on "David" is so incredible, I honestly feel like they could be one of the biggest bands in the world if not for the vocals. Like, U2/Radiohead level.

This is not to say that I don't enjoy Damian's vocals. I do. But clearly they are not made for crossover mega-success.

would depend on the vocals, but yeah, they're willfully operating w/in certain "constraints". sort of funny to read/hear damian talk about this idea (hardcore as a genre that constrains itself in order to achieve purity), as it's clearly a big part of his conception of the band, but he usually limits it to discussion of package design, release strategy, conceptual stuff. not, you know, his own presence in fucked up as the ultimate act of sacrificial hardcore fealty.

dunno about commercial limitation, though. they seem to do pretty well, and there's a significant international audience for hardcore & metal w less melodic vocals. and damian's vision & passion have obviously been crucial to their progress so far. with some nice, pretty singer, they might have just been another also-ran indie band, struggling to find a sound. hard to say...

prediction: their next album (to be w/o him as lead singer according to interview(s)) will not be as good because the vocals make it cool otherwise it will just be indie rock music

and there's a significant international audience for hardcore & metal w less melodic vocals

yeah, if anything it's the ongoing pretty-fication of the music that's limiting their success with this crowd, while the vocals make them a dicey proposition with the folks who just want a drip-feed of pretty, "sweeping" indie. they really are kind of trapped in a self-imposed middle ground -- which i find kind of fascinating conceptually and (sometimes) beautiful musically, though this album hits me in no way as hard as chemistry, which was No. 1 of 2008 for me -- that's the inverse of so many '80s hardcore bands who began to beef up their pop hooks as the decade went on while keeping the music itself kinda ugly.

it's like husker du writing warehouse but keeping the vocal style of "beyond the threshold" or something.

thats whats so cool about it

i'm in no way a Hardcore Guy (in either the specific or general senses of the word) and when i first heard this album i was like "pity about the vocals" but i've come around so completely to them as a constant barreling amelodic roar (while melody's more than covered elsewhere) that i feel like everybody could. i mean couldn't people get used to "queen of hearts" on the radio? it could even be That One Song Where The Guy Screams.

to my ears damian has actually come a long way in terms of fitting his vocal to what's happening in the song--compared to chemistry his timing and feel for the music is much improved.

I don't really know how to quote and stuff, but my Sonicare toothbrush (difficult listening hour) is OTM.

DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE
DYING ON THE INSIDE

'hidden world' is pretty good, huh

Boy howdy, that new album is something.

Also, this adequately approximates seeing them live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsjGlQISaVg

saw them thursday night at a p small club and my head was blown clean off clean hit

the new(er) stuff not really lending itself to the screamalong worked out ok anywayj

Just now getting around to listening to Glass Boys. I've adjusted to Damian's vocals over the years, and now I'm wondering if Fucked Up didn't have a screaming shredded throat guy on the mic would I even care about them? Like, take away Damian and you've got some fairly boilerplate guitar rock (albeit with impressive drumming). Weird that the ingredient which turned me away at first is now the most essential part of the appeal for me.

good dad post

: /

fwiw my dad has no opinions about this band

some fairly boilerplate guitar rock

Total dad incoming - I have some off coloured jeans and occasionally wear Adidas trainers, plus I've been wearing plaid shirts since '83. This is to go with my collection of two sons who think I'm fucking weird.
That said, I have to take issue with the above.
The layered outro to 'Queen Of Hearts' is sublime. It really is. It makes my hairs rise and for that alone I quite like this band

That indie rock album that they did for record store day put a lot of things into perspective. I wasn't so fond of Glass Boys, but then I went back to David Comes To Life expecting to be let down. But it's still pretty great. In some ways it's a Zen Arcade with the production that everyone always wishes Zen Arcade had had.

glass boys is actually pretty good, i wasn't into it at first either

yeah it took me a while to come around to glass boys but i like it a lot now even if its less immediately abrasive

That indie rock album that they did for record store day

Do you mean the David tie-in album of fake 70s covers? That was so great.

I was just listening to their 2014 Zodiac series EP, Year of the Dragon, which is just great. Might be one of my favorite entries in that series.

I've actually still never heard the fake covers record--is it worth hearing? I thought it was kinda a throwaway.

I'm finally hearing the slow version of Glass Boys (really the "less drums" version) and it's worth hearing. Pretty sure I like it better than the official release.

http://pitchfork.com/features/profiles/9697-punk-paradox-the-improbable-legacy-of-fucked-up/

cool piece

best band

p much

Is there a better front man performing than Damian right now? Incredible.

After an iffy opening track, Raise Your Voice Joyce brings the harmonies we all wanted

you know what, this album is cool

Yup. I'm halfway through and it's what i was hoping for from it. You're right about the first track

"cool" is exactly the right word for this record

the idea - mentioned a few times in this thread - that if you take D out of this band you're left with an unremarkable indie rock band is wild, man

"normal people" probably my favorite unremarkable indie rock song of the past several years

"torch to light" is also so so so amazing

this is better than david comes to life imo

fully agreed

it doesn't have a queen of hearts but the songs are much stronger and the album more varied on the whole

the idea - mentioned a few times in this thread - that if you take D out of this band you're left with an unremarkable indie rock band is wild, man

― alpine static

take D out of the band and you'd have a fucking AMAZING indie rock band imo

I guess Talking Pictures is this albums Queen Of Hearts

it really kind of is

it's also one of the best NIN songs in a while (it actually reminds me of something else more but I've forgotten what)

this album is rewarding replays well, there's a lot happening and it's mostly v satisfying

OH I WORKED IT OUT it took me nearly half an hour

it reminds me of Trail Of Dead EP track Intelligence

so it's also one of their best songs in a while haha

that all said, this is a brilliant 8-track album that ends with the title track and then goes on for another near-hour

yeah it's...a bit much, even if that's kinda the point. there's def some less-than-compelling stuff. Like I love J Castle and J Mascis individually but their duet does nothing for me.

nah i think this is all pretty engaging

It's interesting to me how the album isn't front- or back-loaded, it's really high quality throughout. Insofar as I'm going to be disappointed with anything this band does that isn't Epics In Minutes, I think this is the best thing they've done since then

Maybe if I treat the last ten tracks as their own thing and start at Living In A Simulation then they'll come to life a bit more - I mean I think they're still good but I'm in thrall to the initial run a bit

look around, tell me what you see
behind the halls of shining groceries

i listened to that like six times in a row the day i bought the album

the half of Year of the Horse that's been released so far (they seem to be unveiling one "act" every couple months) is really something

https://fuckedup.bandcamp.com/album/year-of-the-horse

The pessimist in me assumes the band broke up/Damian left the band whenever I see this thread revive.

Dose Your Dreams still rules.

the zodiac records are my favorite this thing outfit creates

Matt Berninger on a Fucked Up song!! ok!

Year of the Horse completed now... I love it more than me own mum

this is fuckin awesome. love the huge guitar squalls that announce "act two".

also, feels much much shorter than its 94 minutes would suggest

not that into the medieval/post-rock/prog instrumental sections but damian's vocals still rip

they really do. also julien baker is an obvious but satisfying choice for a literal choir of angels

it's happening again

the cost of the 2xLP hurt me a little (nothing like shelling out for international shipping on a record by an ostensibly local act) but I'm wearing this thing out so it seemed the only course of action