(photo: clasmusic.com)
In last week’s Polaris Shortlist review post I asked, “Where to start with Elliott Brood?” I hate to sound like a broken record, but the sentiment fits this week’s review like a glove.
Where to start with Fucked Up?
Before The Chemistry of Common Life entered my musical orbit, I’d never given the Toronto hardcore punk band any real thought or consideration. Their thing is not my thing, you know? It doesn’t scare me; it just doesn’t do anything for me. I’m nothing if not an equal opportunist, so once I started giving the disc a spin for Polaris consideration, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard and my reaction to it. Like I said back on 25 June, The Chemistry of Common Life is actually a very melodic album that channels its punk intensity. Penultimate track “Looking For God” is able to steadily build in intensity and power with just one repeated bar that gets powerful without having to get louder. It’s menacing and grizzly, and very evocative of the rest of the music on offer. The power is in the its songs rather than it’s screams. That it’s an instrumental track is a telltale sign of my biggest criticism with Fucked Up.
In a nutshell, I hate the vocals. There I said it. Sue me. Pink Eyes (aka Damian Abraham) has something interesting to say, I’m sure, but there’s something about his screaming growls that push me away from truly appreciating what they have to say. Nice singing is not what hardcore punk is about, I get it. I’m not asking for Josh Groban here. I guess my pop sensibilities are more in tune with what a band like, say Alexisonfire does with the same formula. George Pettit (who occasionally does some guitar work for Fucked Up) has managed to harness that intensity and razor blade delivery of hardcore punk and still deliver a truly dynamic vocal performance. Pink eyes just seems to have one mode: angry/shouty. That’s hard to take over 52-plus minutes.
I really want to love the Chemistry of Common Life, because it really has some excellent musical moments on it. “Crooked Head” and “No Epiphany” are just a couple examples of the musical complexity and sophistication Fucked Up can deliver. Son The Father” has all the markings of a great album opener–how many hardcore albums do you know start with a flute solo?? It’s bloody brilliant, as is the rest of the song. I actually don’t mind Pink Eyes’ performance on that track; it’s just as the album progresses, his static delivery overshadows that flashes of brilliance that are backing him up.
The chemistry is there for a fantastic album, but Fucked Up have to rework the formula to get the balance right. Maybe next time?
MP3: Fucked Up “Crooked Head”
Buy: Fucked Up The Chemistry of Common Life
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