''FYULABA'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band

SNFU SNFU was a Canadian hardcore punk band from Edmonton, formed in 1981 as Society's No Fucking Use. They relocated to Vancouver in 1992 and went on hiatus in 2018 due to illness. They released eight albums, two live records, and one compilation ami ...

. The album was released in 1996 by

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

. Its name is an acronym for ''Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident''. Chris Walter. ''What No One Else Wanted to Say''. Vancouver: GFY Press, 2014, pg. 157 The album was the last of three albums released by SNFU on Epitaph. Eight years would pass before the proper followup, '' In the Meantime and In Between Time'', was issued in 2004.

Background and recording

Throughout 1995 and early 1996, SNFU had toured extensively in support of their fifth studio album, '' The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed''. Members Marc Belke, Brent Belke, and Rob Johnson had also spent time finalizing the '' Redemeer'' album released in 1996 by their side project the Wheat Chiefs. SNFU initially recorded demos for their sixth album in May with roadie and sound man Simon Head. In June 1996, the band returned to Mushroom Studios, the site of the recording of ''The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed'', to record ''FYULABA''. Engineer Pete Wonsiak and mixer

Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician based in Vancouver. Ogilvie started his recording career as a mixing engineer at Mushroom Studios. He frequently collaborated with industrial band Skinny Puppy ...

, the latter known for his work with

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...

, were brought on for the sessions. While the recording went generally smoothly, singer

Ken Chinn Kendall Steven Chinn (October 19, 1962 – July 16, 2020), known under the stage name Mr. Chi Pig, was a Canadian punk rock vocalist and artist born in Edmonton and long residing in Vancouver. He fronted the hardcore punk band SNFU from 1981 unti ...

's struggles with health and mental problems affected his productivity. Regardless, Marc Belke later remembered the sessions as personally satisfying and fulfilling.Walter 158 Singer

Bif Naked Beth Nicole Torbert (born June 15, 1971) is a Canadian singer best known by her stage name Bif Naked. Between 1996 and 2016, she was among the top 150 selling Canadian artists in Canada. She charted #1 on Billboard Canada for the single Spacema ...

made her second appearance on an SNFU record, singing backup vocals on "You Make Me Thick". The band took the album's initial title, ''Fuck You Up Like a Bad Accident'', from the American

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ist and musician,

Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Will ...

. The title was later shortened to its acronym form, ''FYULABA''. The album's cover was designed by Brad Lambert, but the design used on the cover was an unfinished version of the intended cover.Walter 160 The band later expressed dissatisfaction with final art.

Release

The album was released on September 24, 1996. The band shot a music video for the song "Fate", their fifth promotional video overall.Walter 161 Their tour in support of the record began in October 1996. Included in the

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of the CD release is an audio recording of a heated argument between the band's road crew and owners of a club in

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British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

on November 2, 1995.Walter 152 SNFU had played the venue that night, and Chinn and other associates of the band had had a negative encounter with one of the venue's bouncers, leading to further conflict.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews from critics. Many praised the album's musicality but puzzled over Chinn's increasing interest in popular culture and tabloid headlines. A reviewer from ''

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s ''

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'' called the album a "veritable ''

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'' of pop culture" that is nonetheless "dead-on musically". The ''A.V. Club'' reviewer described the band's sound as a hybrid between the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

and

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

, and ultimately assessed ''FYULABA'' as "an enjoyable album." Similarly,

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critic Vincent Jeffries praised the record's musicality in a retrospective review as "some of the fastest punk attempted by the band in years," but worried that "goofy lyrics prevent ''FYULABA'' from being a triumphant return to form." Jeffries also compared the band to "Weird Al" Yankovic and concluded that " steners willing to ignore the bad lyrics should get a charge out of the music, but this rather imposing condition should keep ''FYULABA'' off any must-have punk lists." Other critics were more forgiving of the album's lyrics while praising its musicality. Writing for ''Drop-D Magazine'', critic Paul Watkin gave the album a favorable review, describing it as "straight out, rapid fire punk, with the boys laying back into the crunchy guitars to highlight the choruses and screaming out back-up vocals." Watkin concludes that "''FYULABA'' is good and sincere and has some things to say."

Track listing

All songs written by

. Track 1 is preceded by a recording hidden in the

Musicians

;SNFU * Mr. Chi Pig (

) - vocals * Marc Belke - guitar, saxophone, vocals * Brent Belke - guitar, vocals * Rob Johnson - bass, vocals * Dave Rees - drums ;Guests *

- vocals (track 2) * Simon Head - keyboards (track 3)

References