FUCKED UP - THE CHEMISTRY OF COMMON LIFE
Read the article on Gigwise here...
Toronto’s Fucked Up are a force of nature. They are leading the charge for a resurgence of ‘balls out of the bath’ punk-hardcore and The Chemistry Of Common Life is their mission statement. Since forming back in 2001 they have courted they’re fair share of controversy and released a list of records as long as your arm, but it is only now that they’re enjoying (or not depending on what you read) ‘mainstream’ success on this side of the pond.
The members play under welcoming pseudonyms like Mustard Gas and Concentration Camp and they are Lead by the relentless Pink Eye whose rotund mug you may have seen gurning out of TV sets and magazine covers all over the shop in the run up to this release.
The Chemistry Of Common Life is not the onslaught you might have thought it would be though. The build up to opener 'Son The Father' is quaintly beautiful, and when it threatens to explode into hardcore ruthlessness, what comes is more punk rock anthem. It is these sensibilities that allow them to be so accessible, and that should ensure that 'The Chemistry...' endures where their more unhinged peers may have remained hidden.
The album is beautifully constructed and awash with musical flourishes that should satisfy the extremists (not the Nazis, an accusation the band refuted in 2004 after a split 7” with Haymaker had a picture of Hitler on the sleeve) who favour their more ‘out there’ moments like last year’s 18-minute single ‘year of the pig’. 'Magic Word' finishes with a growling Pink Eye crowing “Alright” in his best southern hick drawl, only to run into the sweet instrumental of 'Golden Seal'.
Further album highlights include the epic majesty of 'Royal Swan' which brings the bands female member (the aforementioned Mustard Gas) in to duet with Pink Eye in more eery sweetness. It takes the enormity of Isis’s Celestial and repackages it for a more human ear, without losing any of its credibility. Like Les Savy Fav bringing the sound of a thousand 'underground' post-hardcore bands to the ears of the masses with 'Let’s Stay Friends', 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' does the same for hardcore-punk. A triumph by all accounts.
The members play under welcoming pseudonyms like Mustard Gas and Concentration Camp and they are Lead by the relentless Pink Eye whose rotund mug you may have seen gurning out of TV sets and magazine covers all over the shop in the run up to this release.
The Chemistry Of Common Life is not the onslaught you might have thought it would be though. The build up to opener 'Son The Father' is quaintly beautiful, and when it threatens to explode into hardcore ruthlessness, what comes is more punk rock anthem. It is these sensibilities that allow them to be so accessible, and that should ensure that 'The Chemistry...' endures where their more unhinged peers may have remained hidden.
The album is beautifully constructed and awash with musical flourishes that should satisfy the extremists (not the Nazis, an accusation the band refuted in 2004 after a split 7” with Haymaker had a picture of Hitler on the sleeve) who favour their more ‘out there’ moments like last year’s 18-minute single ‘year of the pig’. 'Magic Word' finishes with a growling Pink Eye crowing “Alright” in his best southern hick drawl, only to run into the sweet instrumental of 'Golden Seal'.
Further album highlights include the epic majesty of 'Royal Swan' which brings the bands female member (the aforementioned Mustard Gas) in to duet with Pink Eye in more eery sweetness. It takes the enormity of Isis’s Celestial and repackages it for a more human ear, without losing any of its credibility. Like Les Savy Fav bringing the sound of a thousand 'underground' post-hardcore bands to the ears of the masses with 'Let’s Stay Friends', 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' does the same for hardcore-punk. A triumph by all accounts.
Labels: album, chemistry of common life, fucked up, hardcore, review
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