Fucked Up – Glass Boys

From their sprawling 75 minute debut to 2011's double LP David Comes to Life, Fucked Up have always presented themselves as an atypical punk band despite their expletive-dropping name. Contrary to the dozens of short and snappy 7"s they've dropped over the years, the Canadians' album output has gradually positioned itself further away from hardcore and into the realm of melodic indie rock. Glass Boys opts for brevity above all else, presenting itself as a lean collection of ten well-paced songs

 

The guitars are as psychedelic and as multi-layered as ever, and Damian Abraham's almighty bellow ranges from in your face to drowned out and abstract. Echo Boomer piles on layers of colourful noise, whereas The Art of Patrons relies on anthemic hooks, but there's still plenty of room for experimentation despite the anthem-geared approach, as lead track Sun Glass will attest. By taking a more aggressive stance, quality control-wise, Fucked Up arrive at their most cohesive record thus far. [Ross Watson]