Fucked Up (CA)

About

Also known as: F*ked Up, F---ed Up, ファックト・アップ

Fucked Up are the kind of hardcore punk band that make critics scramble for superlatives and then refuse to sit still long enough to be defined. The Toronto five piece won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for The Chemistry of Common Life, beating out more polished contenders and putting hardcore punk on the map for a prize that usually favours quieter fare. They have built a reputation on ambitious concept albums, recurring characters across releases, and an ongoing series tied to the Chinese Zodiac that has stretched across nearly two decades. Their live shows have their own mythology too, including a 2008 MTV performance in a men's washroom that ended in spray painted walls, a toppled motorcycle, and a blog post from vocalist Damian Abraham calling it "f**king out of control terrifying." In 2023 they started releasing records where each member tracked their parts in a single day, which sounds like a constraint but fits a band that has always thrived on throwing up obstacles and then bulldozing through them.