Listen with caution! One listen through of this album may leave you couch-locked as a result of your mind being fully blown. Fucked Up’s latest Matador release, Glass Boys, is nothing short of a juggernaut of an album. The band’s first full length LP since 2011’s David Comes to Life, Glass Boys shows just how far Fucked Up has come in terms of musical mastery. It’s melodic, yet ear piercing; polished rock, yet still hardcore. Like many of their previous releases the album starts off soft and gentle, only to unexpectedly lurch into a furious punk rock maelstrom. Track one (Echo Boomer) begins with 27 seconds of new age wind chimes, leaving one with a deep feeling of wonder as to what the hell is about to happen next. A bass drum pounding bars later, a wall of wailing guitars appears wildly to pimp-slap your expectations across the face. With the familiar screaming of Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham, the album begins in earnest, combining the pure, unfiltered rage of their earlier work with some (but not TOO many) of the softer, “prettier” tendencies of their last two albums. Fucked Up channel the latest installment of their trademark melodic hardcore in a manner we have both come to expect and admire. Pink Eyes’ vocals sound like he may just be poised to kill you, a feeling strongly backed up by high-pitched wailing guitars, pounding drums, vocal harmonies, and overall furious musical intensity. An extremely polished piece of work, Glass Boys is truly a gem, as evidenced by such epic tracks as “Sun Glass” and “Paper the House”. Despite having achieved huge success within the mainstream, Fucked Up use this album to prove that they are no less furiously awesome than they have always been. Released June 2nd, Glass Boys is sure to blast some young, impressionable ear drums in the near future.
