Culture Blues

Album Review: “David Comes To Life” – Fucked Up

David Comes To Life - Fucked Up

Toronto’s Fucked Up has been committed to breaking barriers and redefining hardcore since their formation back in early 2001. Over the course of the last decade the Canadian six-piece has challenged the sonic limitations of its genre, they've experimented with some insane marketing tactics, and, with the release of their second studio album back in 2008, The Chemistry Of Common Life, they became the darlings of critics who generally never give hardcore punk the time of day. Beloved in their province, especially within their scene, Fucked Up has been called many things by the blogosphere through the years: shrewd, honest, calculated, passionate, posers, vital, cutting edge, etc. While those claims are all a matter of opinion, there is one quality that Fucked Up possesses that can’t be argued, and that is ambition. Their ambition is not only the catalyst for just about all of Fucked Up’s attributes, it is also the fuel that ignites their creativity; a rather surprising creativity that has borne a remarkably great album.

Fucked Up’s David Comes To Life is an 18 track, four-act, hardcore opera that tells a tale of love, loss, guilt, and rebirth, all while posing questions about the nature of God, and man’s place in existence. Throughout its nearly 78 minute running time the ear is overwhelmed by ceaseless guitar riffage, more hooks than the mind can process, and a story that unfolds excellently, before it unravels exquisitely. The album’s protagonist is David Eliade, a character who has been appearing in Fucked Up tunes dating as far back as 2007's single, David’s Christmas. David works in a light-bulb factory, and is stuck in the same rut that snuffs out the souls of most of the working class. On his way into work one morning he is handed a communist propaganda flier by a girl named Veronica, and in that moment the two of them fall instantly in love. Their love is brief; it lasts long enough for their spark to glow white hot, but does not have a chance to fade, as fate steps in and takes Veronica’s life when a bomb destroys the factory and their happiness. After that the story starts to get confusing. As David begins to grieve a god-like narrator named Octavio begins to wrestle the narrative away from him, and accuses David of planting the bomb that took his love’s life. Toss in Vivian, David’s ex-girlfriend, who has yet another version of the story to tell, and you have yourself a typical broad-stroke concept album that worries less about minor details and more about thematic and emotional impact, which it delivers with all the aplomb of an atom bomb annihilating an ant hill.

From the opening measures of Let Her Rest, Fucked Up makes it clear that they are not working with the traditional "hardcore sonic palette", as what seems like an uncountable amount of guitars build an instrumental intro that sets the stage for all of the grandeur that is about to come. Once the opener gives way to the beyond-killer Queen Of Hearts, lead singer Damian Abraham uses his boiling gravel delivery to present the first idyllic scenes of the story to us, and before the track is over I am in deep, and thirsty for more. The rest of the first act contains what could be considered the most stereotypically “poppy songs”, including the impossible to get out of your head The Other Shoe which stayed lodged in my head all of NXNE after I had heard it live.

The album’s second and third act feature most of the story's exposition, and some of the more straight-ahead Fucked Up tracks, including some great mosh-pit stokers like Running On Nothing, Serve Me Right, and even the acoustic-tinged Slanted Tone which, along with Ship Of Fools, features some of Abraham’s most insightful theological opinions. As the fourth act arrives all of the characters have been introduced, and I am still trying to figure out if David planted the bomb or not. Vivian tries her best to offer up her views on the damn near apocalyptic I Was There, Octavio hands out what seems to be an apology in Inside A Frame and, finally, our hero has crawled out of the darkness and into the light as the final three tracks attempt to ease consciences, lift sadness, and bring the sun out once more.

I know that I have spent a great deal of time highlighting the intricacies and complexities of the story, but it is important to recognize that this interesting narrative would be nowhere without the music that is featured on David Comes To Life. It is no easy feat to fill up an album of this length with musical ideas, but if you stop and consider how densely these songs are packed with melodies, breakdowns, and figures that could have been their own tunes, it is massively impressive! The three guitar (more or less) attack that is used throughout this record is weaved expertly, and Mike Haliechuk can not be given enough credit for his role as orchestrator of all of those strings. Further praise has to be given to Shane Stonebeck who managed to not only capture all of that guitar, but  to blend it perfectly into a record that sounds crisp and clear. Lastly, Abraham (AKA The Mayor Of Toronto) managed to mine all sorts of depth from a vocal range that I am sure even he would admit is limited. All in all, this album pristinely captures a band in their prime and firing on all cylinders.

David Comes To Life is a wonderfully ambitious, tremendously executed record whose genre and length may not be for everyone, but those with an open mind who give it a shot will be rewarded intensely. My one piece of advice is simple - read the lyrics as you listen to the record if you want to the full effect.