Toronto punk rockers Fucked Up have been gracing my ears with sublime hits of noise and melody for years now. Having said that, those roses also come with thorns as the urge to create music that really challenged overtook their amazing knack of making music that puts a wide smile on your face. The good news is that their new album Another Day has me positively beaming. A companion piece to One Day, the band are in fine form revelling in creating waves of noise, intertwined with marvellous melody.
The individual members of this incredible band bring so many brilliant elements that all combine to make up their unique sound. Mike Haliechuk absolutely nails some amazing guitar work throughout the album. Apparently all down to his newfound usage of an octave pedal, which lets him create more noise with less effort. Coupled with Josh Zucker’s inventive playing the two of them lead the way on what is Fucked Up’s shortest album. But the ideas are in abundance, they cram a lot into the shorter run time. Jonah Falco’s drumming is full-on but not overbearing, it’s his superb backing vocals that bring incredible depths. Sandy Miranda’s bass playing keeps the whole thing grounded by filling out whatever space is left.
Opening with ‘Face’, a rip snorting blaster with pummelling drums, scorching guitars and those wondrous backing vocals that elevate Fucked Up onto a higher plateau. ‘Stimming’ is a classic Fucked Up track, with a glorious spiralling riff and Damian’s vocals bordering on the melodic. There’s a sublime synth hum that permeates the track, adding a euphoric sheen to the song. This is especially prevalent as the song comes to a climactic finale. ‘Tell Yourself You Will’ completes a trilogy of hard charging opening tracks as Damian eulogises positivity while Jonah and the gang interject with some almost choral backing vocals.
Title track ‘Another Day’ keeps things moving like a freight train powering on with some weird, backtracked guitars popping up everywhere. Bursting with positivity the song has a catchy chorus. There are more hooks than a fish and tackle shop too. ‘Paternal Instinct’ finds Fucked Up fuse synths and raucous riffage in ways nobody else does. As a direct opposition to Damian’s gnarly vocals their instrumentation just works so well. When he is joined on the chorus (another one!) with a defiant “We’re the ones that will burn it all down!” you’ll find you punching the air with clenched fist.
The best Fucked Up songs typically have some brilliant guitar lines that fill in the void that Damian’s growling vocal style creates. On ‘Divining Gods’ there’s about six of them all duelling for your attention, alongside another one of those high shimmering synth lines. ‘The One To Break It’ is enhanced with a wacky loop of guitars, Damian is bursting to tell his (band?) mate Jonah some news in what has to be one of Fucked Up’s most tuneful songs.
I’m thinking the guitarists have had a great time creating inventive loops and riffs as the itchy riff on ‘More’ ably demonstrates. Once again, the gang vocals are the star of the show, having said that there’s a magical guitar solo here too that aims for the heavens. ‘Follow Fine Feeling’ has a sublime reverbed riff that brings a heightened sense of melody as Damian takes a break from the main microphone duties. It sounds like a companion track to the excellent ‘Cicada’ song from One Day. Finishing the album is the pogo-tastic punk banger ‘House Lights’ which ends this party on a real high note. Damian preaches the gospel according to rock n’ roll with a rousing chorus of “It’s got it’s problems and the world is full of strife, but you fight to find the joy before they bring up the house lights”. What a fucking blast this record is.
I’m thinking Another Day has to rate as one of the best Fucked Up albums. Every track is a winner and they’ve excelled in the creativity department with some truly inventive guitar work that transcends routine punk riffage. I get especially ecstatic when the band all play with such gusto and are allowed to bring those spectacular soaring backing vocals. The ever prolific Fucked Up allowed themselves to lean too much into experimental territory with some of their shorter recent releases, but One Day paved the way for this record. It shimmers, it shines, it will destroy your ears and undoubtedly blow your mind.
