IN REVIEW: Fucked Up - "Dose Your Dreams"

-

On paper, Fucked Up's fifth full-length album is a return to form; revisiting the story from 2011's David Comes to Life and offering a sprawling 18-song set that can't be contained to one CD sure looks like the Fucked Up we know and love.

However, it doesn't take long to figure out just how different Dose Your Dreams is from previous records; there's a psychedelic cloud permeating this record, and a wide breadth of instrumentation we might not be used to hearing. For instance, toward the end of Raise Your Voice Joyce, what seems like a standard punk rager gets dreamy courtesy of a wild saxophone solo. Electronic flourishes are present throughout, and some tracks (like the wonderfully groovy title track and the thumping left turn Mechanical Bull) have a hypnotically danceable quality to them. There's also a pronounced step back from Damian Abraham, especially as the album plays out and the mic is handed to a wider and wider array of guest vocalists.

That said, no one does a concept record quite like Fucked Up and, at its heart, the expanded musical palette and the larger guest list doesn't distract too much from the seemingly effortless majesty that's in Fucked Up's DNA. On first listen, a true sense of wonder develops as the album plays out; the feeling that anything can happen is palpable, and this record is very good at keeping the listener guessing. Dose Your Dreams is packed with twists, turns and all sorts of sonic trickery.

Though it ultimately ends up being more notable for its diversity than the true quality of its songs, Dose Your Dreams is nonetheless another astonishing accomplishment for a band that's built their career upon astonishing accomplishments. Over the course of its 82 minutes, this record proves time and time again just how adventurous and visionary Fucked Up can be; at its conclusion, fans can expect to be a little overwhelmed by the scope of what they just listened to. Considering the scope of their discography to this point, I'd say mission most definitely accomplished.

October 5, 2018 • Arts & Crafts
Highlights Raise Your Voice Joyce • Dose Your Dreams • I Don't Wanna Live in This World Anymore

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IN REVIEW: Surf Curse - "Magic Hour"

-
Image
  After a slow ascent that saw them self-release their first three albums over the course of six years, Surf Curse found fame in the way that so many young and hungry bands do in this modern age; Freaks , written in 2011 and originally released on their debut Buds in 2013, found itself a sudden smash after soundtracking memes on TikTok in 2020, eventually garnering over 200 million streams and earning the group a major label contract.  The first album following their breakthrough, Magic Hour finds plenty of changes in store for fans; now expanded to a four-piece, this album immediately sets itself apart from previous releases based on the fuller sound in the songs alone. Couple that with a step away from the lo-fi aesthetic that played a part in earlier releases and this is obviously going to be a different experience than people may have hyped themselves up for. That said, the crunchy, energized Arrow and the lush, dreamy Cathy combine for a very strong start even as they fly in the
Read more

Gallantly Streaming: Avenged Sevenfold Go Full On 90's With Familiar, Stunning Results

-
Image
Stream Avenged Sevenfold's Hail To The King here , courtesy iTunes. As uncool and un-hipsterish as it may be for me to admit on a blog, I'm a fan of Avenged Sevenfold. Their breakthrough album City of Evil and its blistering lead single Bat Country sucked me in, and their varied, multiple era sprawling attack kept me around waiting for more. Their 2007 self titled effort was just as strong in its shameless genre hopping, planting their feet firmly in the technical metal that endeared them to so many while reaching out to explore new sounds. With that said, I felt 2010's Nightmare was a step back; while it had some genuinely thrilling moments, it overall lacked some of the adventurousness that made them so interesting. Upon listening to Hail To The King 's title track for the first time, I was admittedly disappointed by its trite lyrics and (mostly) simplistic musicianship. However, repeated exposure has helped the track age well; once you get past the lyrics
Read more

Year in Rock 2023: Honorable Mentions

-
Image
  Well, well, well. If it isn't Sound Bites temporarily coming back to life, suspiciously close to the end of the year. That must only mean one thing; well, aside from the author being supremely lazy and neglectful to his blog yet again. Yes, dear reader, it's time for Year in Rock. Look, I'm out of excuses as to why I can turn from cranking out content at a record pace to a full year of radio silence; suffice to say, this blog certainly isn't a priority in my life (which I have been rebuilding since my last post, but that's all personal stuff I have no desire to steal bandwidth from more deserving and important things). Sound Bites will continue to exist as a mausoleum for my personal music tastes, but it's not pivoting into self-help territory, nor is it roaring back to full-time status. I'll check in periodically, so as to say when there's something worth sharing. It might be once a year, it might be more frequently, but I definitely won't be gett
Read more