David Comes To Life by Fucked Up
LABEL: Matador Records
Concept albums. They’ve been around for almost as long as music has been divided into albums. The dichotomy of story-telling and music combine to create an audio (sometimes visual) experience. Concept albums might be a dime a dozen nowadays, but punk rock has usually been on the bad side of that notion with either the concept being lackluster, or simply not executed well enough. So what happens when Fucked Up, an independent hardcore band from Toronto, attempts to grab conceptualism by the horns? Well, in the case of David Comes To Life, delivery and beauty.
Featuring members with stage names likes Pink Eyes, Mustard Gas, Concentration Camp, and 10,000 Marbles – Fucked Up seems, well, fucked up. This band of Canadian punk-rockers are no strangers to success. Their 2008 effort The Chemistry of Common Life saw universal critical acclaim for its use of art and experimental themes. The album eventually won Fucked Up the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, which is given to the best Canadian album, regardless of genre. The Chemistry of Common Life was as hard-hitting as it was meaningful. It was an album that helped Fucked Up step into a direction of experimental conceptualism: their potential may be finally realized.
As stated previously, David Comes To Life is a concept album. But what’s the concept? What could hardcore punk-rockers possibly write about? Love. David Comes To Life is the journey of a young couple in a fictional British town during the labor-conscientious times of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The relationship is seemingly doomed from the beginning, but it recklessly, yet alluringly, finds itself in channeling the grandiosity of pure, uninhibited hardcore, à la albums like Hüsker Dü’s Zen Decade.
The album opens with “Let Her Rest,” a sprawling collection of guitars and drums that sends a spark up your spine, preparing you for the expedition that lies ahead. Though an instrumental, the track feels right at place in an album that stresses both music and lyricism to the fullest. Damian Abraham (Pink Eyes) starts his bellowing charge with the second track “Queen of Hearts,” which details how the protagonists, David Eliade (played by Abraham) and Veronica Boisson, first met. Furthermore, “Queen of Hearts” is a relentless punk-anthem that booms a cascading wall of guitars and percussion. It’s still punk-hardcore, but its refined subtleties and acute attention to detail transform Fucked Up’s sound into a more orchestrated and structured creation.
There are a number of tremendous guest appearances on this album: Cults’ Madeline Follin plays the female love interest Veronica Boisson; singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle voices David’s former love interest; and Matador label-mate Kurt Vile provides backing vocals — an eclectic group indeed. Follin’s sound is typically gentle, while Castle yields a more rustic sound, and Kurt Vile features his usual infectious drone. Though these guest vocals seem like they should clash with the roaring of Pink Eyes or the eardrum-breaking instrumentation, they find a way to ensure a superb four acts of hardcore-punk opera.
As is the case with any concept album, proficient storytelling is a must. And while the incorrect and generalized notions of punk attempt to hinder this album, Abraham explodes with lyrical profoundness. Through the astute lyricism of Abraham, Follin coos, “Hello, your name is David, I am Veronica/ Let’s be together, until the water swallows us/ Hello, you must be David, I am Veronica - let’s be together, until we’re all finally crushed.” It’s a foreboding lyric, but it is absolutely powerful in its depiction of falling in love: relentless, reckless, but always worth it. But the fervent lyricism doesn’t stop there. Throughout David Comes To Life, Abraham finds his story growing more complex, but most importantly, more in tune with love. Album standout “The Other Shoe” is one of the final scenes of the first act, and it contains a few simple, repeated lines that find a way of hitting close to that area that lies just left-of-center of your chest: “We’re dying on the inside […] It can’t be comfortable when the whole thing’s about to fall.” In Act III, the song “Life In Paper” exemplifies Abraham’s wondrous use of imagery, “With crooked compass, you navigate.” Through semi-cryptic songwriting and meaningful tropes, Abraham is able to delight and sadden listeners at the same time.
But it wouldn’t be hardcore with just an enthralling storyline, right? 10,000 Marbles, Gulag, and Young Governor show no regard for human life as their pounding and thudding guitar riffs and leads create a monolith of sound. Coupled with Mr. Jo’s (drums) impeccable timing and improvisation, Fucked Up’s David Comes To Life is as hardcore as it is insightful.
The beauty of David Comes To Life is not all about a compelling storyline and hard-hitting guitars; it’s about exploring the grand notion of what it means to be in love and alive, and all the multi-faceted, convoluted journeys it takes us on. Through carpe diem-esque themes, catharsis, and the drive for passion, Fucked Up have created an impressive 78-minute exploration of life, love, and loss without being overbearing or trite. David Comes To Life is cohesive and enthralling, but most importantly, it’s a dynamic reflection of all the things that make being alive unpredictable, yet absolutely breathtaking.
REVIEWED BY ADRIAN ROJAS
ADRIAN’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Queen of Hearts” • “The Other Shoe” • “Lights Go Up”
Read more from Adrian on his blog, On the Importance of Being Rash
FREE MP3: “The Other Shoe”
+ Read the Groovemine review of a memorable Fucked Up concert in 2009
