A thread for the band Fucked Up

^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