Fucked Up:
Glass Boys:
Matador:
CD/LP/DD/2 versions
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
At first listen, this lot are perhaps not quite as fucked up as their classy moniker suggests, until lead 'singer' (read as 'screamer', 'hollering maniac', 'king of the rasp') Father Damien hurtles throat-long into opening track Echo Boomer. It sounds like he's bungee-jumped, mouth agape, into a freshly-lit oil-slick and recorded the result - and of course it's as compelling a listen as you could imagine.
If you've heard their previous efforts The Chemistry Of Modern Life and David Comes To Life you'll know what to expect - edgy thrashed-out alt-rock spewed from the guts of a band that recall Husker Du, Art Brut and 'screamo', without the slack-arse fashion or the potentially naval-gazing misery of the latter. Glass Boys is far from being a crossover album of course and improves with every listen, regardless of which version you listen to.
'Version?', I hear you enquire....
In an unprecedented move, Fucked Up have also released a 'Half-Time Drums' version of the album whereby you can enjoy Damien unleashing verbal hell over slower beats - and you know what? It works a treat! Sun Glass becomes a gnarly hit anthem and the title-track becomes a superb full-throttle conclusion to an album that becomes multi-faceted every time you play it on shuffle! Good work.
Here's my take on Glass Boys featuring tracks from both versions (it's just for fun):
Glass Boys:
Matador:
CD/LP/DD/2 versions
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
If you've heard their previous efforts The Chemistry Of Modern Life and David Comes To Life you'll know what to expect - edgy thrashed-out alt-rock spewed from the guts of a band that recall Husker Du, Art Brut and 'screamo', without the slack-arse fashion or the potentially naval-gazing misery of the latter. Glass Boys is far from being a crossover album of course and improves with every listen, regardless of which version you listen to.
'Version?', I hear you enquire....
In an unprecedented move, Fucked Up have also released a 'Half-Time Drums' version of the album whereby you can enjoy Damien unleashing verbal hell over slower beats - and you know what? It works a treat! Sun Glass becomes a gnarly hit anthem and the title-track becomes a superb full-throttle conclusion to an album that becomes multi-faceted every time you play it on shuffle! Good work.
Here's my take on Glass Boys featuring tracks from both versions (it's just for fun):