Toronto greats Fucked Up have been in the game for a long, long time, and they’ve made a lot of confounding, unpredictable music. They’re not done. Last year, the band released the towering and ambitious Year Of The Horse. Today, they’ve followed that record up with a new EP that moves them into grimier, more abrasive territory.
Fucked Up’s new EP Oberon is named after the mythical king of the fairies, as depicted in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Oberon is also depicted in the cover art, and he’s credited with backup vocals. Fucked Up have always built their own folklore, but they seem to be tapping into something deeper and older here. Musically, they’re also tapping into something deeper and older: a vein of noise and sludge that’s been running through underground rock for generations.
The riffs and roars on Oberon hit hard. This time around, it sounds like Fucked Up have been listening to a whole lot of Melvins and Jesus Lizard. On the four songs from Oberon, they take their time, settling into a midtempo groove. They lurch and grind and wallow in murk, and they sound pretty amazing doing it. We posted the early songs “Strix” and the title track, and now you can stream the whole ugly thing below.
The Oberon EP is out now on Tankcrimes.
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