This is not Aqualung nor is it 2112 territory but we are, whether we like it or not, listening to a concept album. And as such, there are a few things that we know are going to be present. We can expect the overly detailed and thoroughly confounding story of some humble protagonist doing....something and eventually, or not, overcoming whatever it was that needed to be overcome. The story generally concerns an overarching narrative storyline that exists to play host to a wide range of ethical or emotional lessons that the artist wishes to relate. Needless to say, these albums are generally thought of as pretentious, egotistical exercises in excess. But every so often, an artist presents an album steeped in its concept histories but that breaks free of those same boundaries to present a story told exactingly, but never overly confusing, and invests it with an energy which transforms what might have been an otherwise ungainly narrative into a logical, cohesive story.
On David Comes To Life, Fucked Up manage to deliver an album which by its nature is categorically a concept album but can and does function as an album bereft of the confining ideals of that musical form. The crushing guitars run down the beat as singer Damian Abraham's vocal screeches accompany the bass sprinting toward the end of each song. The sheer "much" of this album can seem to be a bit daunting on first listen and doesn't quite let up on repeated listens, but what does slowly expose itself are the buried melodies and seemingly indecipherable lyrics chronicling main character David's finding and losing love and the acceptance which must come or else fall irrefutably into the darkness. The band manages this grand feat with what could be considered a limited musical palette. The guitars are very loud, the bass throbs away, punching its way through the chaos, and drums and vocals wind around each other as each song hammers its way through the storyline. The occasional interruption comes in the form of Cults singer Madeline Follin and singer Jennifer Castle, playing the two female characters who intertwine with David over the course of the album. The massive squall is shelved for a brief time on the acoustic anomaly opening of “A Slanted Tone” and the harmony-laden backing vocals on “The Other Shoe”, though both manage to resume their intensity shortly thereafter. And in the intense personification of David and his cast of characters, David Comes To Life becomes less an act of purposed storytelling than a bands hard earned rite of passage, where the ideas of what Fucked Up should sound like collide with what Abraham and Co. feel like doing. It’s an aggressive stance from a band that has never compromised and never tried to soften their sound to please the non-diehard fans. You either give them the leeway to do what they want or get the fuck out of their way.
Tracklisting:
01. Let Her Rest
02. Queen of Hearts
03. Under My Nose
04. The Other Shoe (listen to the mp3 below)
05. Turn The Season
06. Running on Nothing
07. Remember My Name
08. A Slanted Tone
09. Serve Me Right
10. Truth I Know
11. Life in Paper
12. Ship of Fools
13. A Little Death
14. I Was There
15. Inside a Frame
16. The Recursive Girl
17. One More Night
18. Lights Go Up
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