Damian Abraham, AKA Pink Eyes – Fucked Up's topless hulk of a frontman – runs as far from the stage as the microphone cord will allow him. A man at the end of his cable, if not quite his tether, he shocks punters who perhaps hadn't expected to spend their evening quite this close to a bald, bearded, tattooed creature bellowing about insanity and violence. The front rows reel him back towards the stage with the microphone flex, like they're landing a giant fish.

The Toronto band have a reputation for live mayhem and one show, which destroyed an MTV studio, was described as "out of control, terrifying". However, this has perhaps overshadowed what an unusual musical proposition they are. The three guitars/bass and drums lineup plays driven, melodic rock with tricky time signatures, while Abraham is a hardcore shouter, steeped in Black Flag and Hüsker Dü.

It's a combination that shouldn't work, yet it does, because the singer yells like a man undergoing some form of nightly catharsis, transforming the unlikely cocktail into a massed emotional experience. Between songs, though, he's endearingly goofy – even bending down so fans can pat his pate.

If there is a conundrum, it's that Abraham is utterly compelling. But his shtick can also become repetitive, especially as the set veers towards straighter hardcore at the expense of unplayed, more adventurous gems such as the extraordinary, 15-minute Year of the Tiger.

More could be made of the intriguing – but underused – juxtaposition between Abraham's gruff blasts and female bassist Sandy Miranda's sweeter purr. Still, no one watching the big man will forget him in a hurry.

"This one is for anyone who's been called fat or ugly," he rages, as he hurls himself into the crowd again and ends up prostrate on the floor.

• At Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds, on 17 June. Box office: 0113 2346160. Then touring.