Another Day＜Milky Clear Vinyl＞

カナダのトロントで結成され、地元のDIYハードコア・パンク・シーンで活躍を続けるFucked Upの7枚目のニュー・アルバムが発売。非常に多くの作品をリリースし、ツアーも行い続けている彼らの渾身のパンク作品。

Fucked Up are a great punk band who have devoted a lot of time and energy to challenging the assumptions of what a punk band can be. Albums like 2008s The Chemistry of Common Life, 2011s David Comes to Life, and 2018s Dose Your Dreams were uncommonly ambitious and stylistically diverse, as imaginative and inventive as anything to come from a so-called hardcore band since the glory days of the Minutemen and Husker Du. Theyve even challenged the conventions of record-making, writing and recording the entirety of 2023s One Day within the space of 24 hours. Having accomplished all that, Fucked Up can be forgiven for relaxing a bit and enjoying the sonic comfort food that is fast, loud punk rock, and 2024s Another Day is the most straightforward and muscular LP they have delivered in a very long time. These tunes have plenty of loud guitars, crashing drums, and an abundance of grainy shouting from lead singer and lyricist Damian Abraham, with his bandmates shouting along in support, and not a great deal in the way of sonic experimentation -- for these sessions, Fucked Up were happy to just play some loud rock & roll, and it sounds like theyre reveling in it. That said, one of the biggest reasons they were able to get away with some of their more grandiose concepts is theyre clearly a very intelligent group, and even when theyre treading relatively familiar ground, Another Day sounds every bit as smart as theyre capable of being. The songs take agile twists and turns, the guitar interplay between Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker is satisfying and makes room for far more than the traditional four/four downstroke, and bassist Sandy Miranda and drummer Jonah Falco power this music with muscle and panache. And if the mix doesnt always put Abrahams vocals front and center, making it something of a challenge to understand all the lyrics, whats audible hits an admirable balance between rage and hope; when he sings, "the world is full of strife, but you fight to find the joy before they bring up the house lights," dont be surprised if you start shouting along. Even at their most modest and straightforward, Fucked Up are a band good enough to make you believe punk can still make a difference, and Another Day is wild, invigorating proof. ~ Mark Deming