All too often punk music is about getting it right, picking a particular subgenre and acing it the way you might a test. Toronto's Fucked Up has proven the antithesis of this approach since their inception. Formed in early 2001, this five-piece has managed confrontation without cheap gimmicks or novelty, creativity without pointless noodling and intensity without predictable arrangements. Seamlessly plowing through punk's varied past, a Fucked Up song can invoke the melodic anthems of British Oi, the brawny directness of early'80s American hardcore and the artistic autonomy of a band that doesn't care what its forebears have done before.
Gruff, raspy vocals reminiscent of Negative Approach's John Brannon topple over driving guitars, sometimes favoring melody, sometimes a chaotic, down-stroke frenzy. A trail of hard-to-find seven-inch EPs show a band not only perfectly at ease with the trade of vintage hardcore punk, but one constantly willing to push its music into new, original directions. Fucked Up manipulates everything from its lyrics and artwork to song length and writing to make a distinct, singularly unique point.
Threading the best elements of Killed By Death obscurities through the Undertones' melody, Black Flag's aggression and Minor Threat's Marshall-driven guitars, Fucked Up rarely makes for direct comparisons, arriving instead at something wholly intense and new ... and isn't that the point?
'Utterly fantastic and unpredictable. Like an explosion in a riff factory' - Paul Travers, Kerrang
'One of the best bands in Britain at the moment' - Daniel P. Carter, Radio 1 Rock Show
'Turbowolf's punked up riffin' rock is an echo of the past glory days of hard rock and heavy metal, but their delivery is from the future. They are writing music you've never heard before. A great live band who's songs more and more prove they have what it takes to make fans of rockers from pole to pole. ' - James Gill, Metal Hammer
'I'm loving this at the moment, one of my top tips. I think they're gonna be massive! ' - Rob Da Bank, Radio 1
'The most innovative unsigned band in Britain' - Download Festival