On their eighth studio album, Another Day, the Toronto hardcore act Fucked Up creates a record full of nostalgia and emotion in just 10 songs. The album becomes a solid work with powerful vocals, a storybook approach and just the right instrumentals.
From their album opener, “Face,” the band presents itself as a typical hardcore band with great drumming, solid guitarwork and emotional vocals. Lead singer Damian Abraham stands out with deep, raspy vocals, almost sing-talking like a punk Leonard Cohen. Drummer Jonah Falco does a great job leading the band through each section, from hitting the toms more to signal the end of certain sections to slowing down for the guitars to have their moment.
Although this isn’t part of a particular song, there’s something more professional and streamlined about a storybook procedure. Every song flows into the next like rivers emptying into reservoirs only to journey again. While it can lead to monotony, Fucked Up uses the interchanges like a gearshift, it may take a little push, but it gets to the right place.
While the main instruments are particularly hardcore, the band experiments with other sounds in the underlying instrumentation. On “Parental Instinct,” the intro isn’t the clashing of guitars and the hammering of drums; it’s synths that, if tuned down, could almost be the opening to “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince. They simmer under the surface, occasionally overshadowed by other instruments, but they always lurk and boost the track.
If one sticks around for the whole track, the ending synths shift from Purple Rain to A Clockwork Orange with synths that almost resemble the famous theme of electrified “Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary II.”
Arguably the best song on the record, however, doesn’t make movie music references; it’s rather just an upbeat song about living the life one has. “House Lights” is the perfect metaphor for life, and Abraham’s emotions throughout the track help sell it. It works through the struggles of life and trying to find the best in everything.
“It’s got its problems, and the world is full of strife / But you fight to find the joy before they bring up the house lights.”
Overall, Fucked Up made a great album with some fun and intriguing nuances that help draw the audience in even further, the Prince reference doesn’t hurt either.
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