Toronto’s Fucked Up are stars of the current punk-without-a-hyphen scene. Following widespread praise for 2008’s Polaris Prize-winning Chemistry of Common Life, the band took a surprise turn and wrote a punk-rock opera. The narrative of David Comes to Life is not easy to follow, but the love story (with notes of political activism, we think) requires female vocals, and hearing singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle and Cults’ Madeline Follin chirruping between the bruising guitars, brutal drums and steel wool vocals of Damien Abraham (a.k.a. Pink Eyes) is but one of the record’s charms. Picking a track is not easy, but try “Serve Me Right” for a sample of the thick guitar hookage that is at the core of the band and this effort: it’s a ridiculous amount of sound, expertly pressed into an aural sandwich of tasty layers — like a super meaty, fat-dripping panini ... but better. Kudos to producer Shane Stoneback for wrestling something that approaches excess into something that is not only palatable, but is pretty much a joy to listen to.