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David Comes To Life
by
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David Comes To Life Image
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 33 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

  • Summary: The Toronto seven-piece release a four-act narrative album, as theatrical as it is musical.
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Top Track

The Other Shoe
"We're dying on the inside." Right on time here's the other shoe. Clouds overhead start to loom. Some born to win others fated to lose. From options... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. The A.V. Club
    Jun 8, 2011
    100
    They're also bracingly potent and screamingly vital; David Comes To Life is the work of a band openly aspiring to be great, and pulling it off.
  2. PopMatters
    Jun 9, 2011
    90
    In the end, the greatest testament to David Comes to Life is how it feels like there's more and more to it, even when you're already on sensory overload as it is.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Jun 6, 2011
    88
    In "Turn the Season," "Ship of Fools" and "Life in Paper," the guitars suggest a torrent busting through a dam, sweeping away all in its path. It's an exhilarating, engulfing sound that might've been better served by a more concise album. But then F Up never has been much for holding itself back.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Jun 3, 2011
    80
    David Comes to Life contains plenty of evidence that Fucked Up is still one of the strangest and most inventive guitar rock bands on the planet.
  5. CMJ
    Jun 8, 2011
    80
    To hear the band members tell it, David Comes To Life is the record they've been working up to for the past 10 years, a grandiose statement that closes off the first chapter of Fucked Up's history. It's anybody's guess as to how they'll follow something like this, but we're already excited for chapter two.
  6. Clash Music
    Jun 6, 2011
    80
    There's no doubting the commitment in delivery though, with solid musical cohesion and a thrusting triple-guitar assault that has an astounding clarity and is expertly choreographed.
  7. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 16, 2011
    40
    Between the overlong, overstuffed songs and arrangements, ridiculous album concept and lyrical conceit, there's no room left for the vicious, hurtling energy that first impressed me on Hidden World's best songs.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. jocunelson
    May 10, 2012
    10
    Give it four listens. It is loud and racous. It is hard to understand some of the lyrics. Every song has a heart and a primal beat andGive it four listens. It is loud and racous. It is hard to understand some of the lyrics. Every song has a heart and a primal beat and feeling. The best album of 2011 (if you can stomach noise). It is a movie in your head. It is the 12 year old kid playing air guitar in the mirror to the Who. It is a monolith. It is perfection.… Expand
  2. staubin
    Jun 16, 2011
    10
    this would be my frontrunner for album of the year. it's lengthy, has great lyrics, a great concept, and it is catchy and well executed. athis would be my frontrunner for album of the year. it's lengthy, has great lyrics, a great concept, and it is catchy and well executed. a really great post punk album that never lets up on the gas pedal for most of its 1.5 hour running time. try listening to "queen of hearts" if you want a good idea of the direction of the album right away.… Expand
  4. bone
    Dec 30, 2011
    10
    Just listen Its great
  5. Marcbackman
    Jun 12, 2011
    9
    This album is a modern day masterpiece - a genuine gem amongst an overabundance of crap that has true feeling bursting out of it. TheThis album is a modern day masterpiece - a genuine gem amongst an overabundance of crap that has true feeling bursting out of it. The multiple guitar tracks overlay each other perfectly creating a delicious sonic texture throughout the album, backed by the rolling bass underlying the guitar tracks. The vocals pack an awesome punch and perfectly compliment the bands sound while giving the album a real 'fist pumping' nature. The album will be difficult to get into for people not open to the vocal style of Pink eyes, but a deeply rewarding album awaits anyone who gives it a go, and you will eventually find that the vocals are one of the most enjoyable aspects of the album. The album makes you feel really empowered about life, and that's something I haven't felt with an album in quite some time. You can relate to the tracks when you're feeling down in the dumps with life or a relationship because they are a mix of optimistic and depressed moods. It oozes the feeling of getting back on your feet again and giving everything a go, regardless of what the world thinks. This is the key thing that the album works as. The band are unconventional and different, and by attempting to create a rock-opera concept album that fits perfectly with our modern culture. It feels very apt, and in my head it feels like a modern version of 'The Wall', albeit with a very different band and sound.… Expand
  6. MorriBey
    Jun 22, 2011
    9
    Excellent album. A joy to listen. Its near heavy metal that i have listened to in a long time. The track '
    The Other Shoe' is the best song i    Excellent album. A joy to listen. Its near heavy metal that i have listened to in a long time. The track '
    The Other Shoe' is the best song i have heard in a while. Its my most shared track in a while. Needs to be played loud.    … Expand
  7. j30
    Aug 15, 2011
    8
    Compelling and epic are the two words I would use describe this record. It keeps getting better each time I listen to it. "The Other Shoe" andCompelling and epic are the two words I would use describe this record. It keeps getting better each time I listen to it. "The Other Shoe" and "The Queen of Hearts" are the two standouts.… Expand
  8. inoffensive
    Feb 4, 2020
    4
    really liked the instrumentals, but that's about it tbh. the vocals makes it really hard to understand, even though there is clearly a storyreally liked the instrumentals, but that's about it tbh. the vocals makes it really hard to understand, even though there is clearly a story being told which is a damn shame. half way trough the album it becomes really hard to care.… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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18
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97
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