There’s a trio of albums consuming us at the moment, the new one from Chicago’s Cheer-Accident, the latest epic from Slift and this, the latest slice of whatever it is Fucked Up are doing here! Three vital albums jousting for our ears, our time and more. I keep hearing people almost as old as me saying things like “music isn’t as good as it was in my day”; rubbish! These are the best of times, there’s so much good music crossing over in so many delicious ways, we’re overwhelmed with so much good music, it is almost impossible, it is almost very nearly too much, we can’t keep up…
Fucked Up – Grass Can Move Stones Part 2: Year of the Monkey (Tankcrimes) – “What’s this? Oh, its Fucked Up!”; There’s really nothing quite like them, it took less that a minute for the questioner to answer her own question. She is right of course, there is no one else quite like Fucked Up right now. How did they get to where they are now? Who knows? Who cares! They really are on a wonderful run of musical adventures,
Fucked Up return with Year Of The Monkey, the second chapter in the Grass Can Move Stones trilogy, picking up where the excellent Year Of The Goat left off at the end of last year. Four tracks, the shortest of which clocks in at just over Twenty-Four epic minutes, Grass Can Move Stones tells the story of Monkey and Good Goat, two young friends who embark on a journey of self-discovery, encountering gods, magical creatures, and dangers along the way, loosely following the narrative of the fundamental Journey To The West, written in the 16th century by Wu Cheng’en. The story also charts the career of the band, whose search for a musical home has led them through a varied and complex discography over the past twenty-five years.
“Anchored vocally again by Damian Abraham and Tuka Mohammed, on Year Of The Monkey Fucked Up are joined by an incredible chorus of guest voices which bring to life the brilliantly crafted and imaginative supporting characters of Grass Can Move Stones. Among them are John Brannon (Negative Approach, Laughing Hyenas), Carson McHone (The Outfit, Carson McHone), Walter Schreifels (Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today), Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Off!), Jake Bannon (Converge), Brandon Welchez (Crocodiles), Chris Colohon (Left For Dead, Cursed), Leigh Arthur (Extravision, Sissy), and Annie-Claude Deschênes (Duchess Says) reprising her role as Tiger from Fucked Up’s 2012 release Year Of The Tiger.
The ten-sides of music have begun being released serially over the course of the year starting with Year Of The Goat which was released in December 2025, Year Of The Monkey in Spring 2026, and concluding with Year Of The Rooster, the last entry in the trilogy, which will coincide with the 20th anniversary of Year Of The Dog, Fucked Up’s first Zodiac release, in October 2026.
And this really does pick up from where Year Of The Goat left us late last year, it picks up with more epic prog adventure: four more pieces of music, each one just under a half an hour in length, each one a roller coaster ride of prog, punk, metal, epic tales laces with big riffs, harmonised guitar, it is a rather unique sound, there are reference points of comparisons to be made, I suspect everyone is going to hear different things, it does weave in a deliciously full-bodied kind of way, it is dense, it is epic, it tastes of many things, these ears can hear classic Thin Lizzy style guitars, maybe even a touch of Big Country riffage in there with the Dead Kennedy bat out of hell hardcore and the prog rock and the ifs and ands and more pots and pans, the theatre of it all, the jousting as once again boundaries are pushed and hearts are followed and kitchen sinks are thrown and dreams and screams and never leaving anyone’s side and somewhere over the rainbow and it is a unique blend of so many glorious things, This is beyond epic, there’s so much in here, there’s some much work in here and right now at the start of Empty is The Hand it sounds a little like a punk rock Riders Of The Storm and all kinds of doors being opened and then closed again as they all gallop on over the next hill, well no, over the next mountain, no hills here, these are big mountain ranges they’re all climbing, these are big seas they’re parting, this is serious cloud bursting and all as over the top as we’re telling it here and tell me my friend, where have you been, what’s on your mind and can I get away with sating know they’re sounding like a punky version of the folky side of Led Zeppelin and The Battle of Evermore eleven minutes into Empty is The Hand, and now they’re going a bit Yes now which is of course as cool as flip and here comes the sun and and an orchard rising and the Bellboy will be along in a moment, got to keep running now, no, hang on, now we’re thrashing, we’ve gone all hardcore thrash metal again, and there goes the original face rather than the Ace Face and epic epic epic and there’s still another ten minutes of this track to come yet and Slayer and Maiden and Tuka Mohammed rides it all so so beautifully, so so well while Damian Abraham roars and so say goodbye to everything we’ve ever known and life can be like a dream coming down and Black Rose and stream of consciousness responses to something highly crafted and intricately built and highly composed and it really is magnificent and let’s go round again and in the ancient days we fall far… and how good is that start and where is the gate and… (sw)
Bandcamp / website
Previously…
ORGAN: Our best albums of another very musically busy 2025. Who did we rate? Part One, 1 to 10…
THE ORGAN 