OFF!
OFF!
Vice Records (2012)
Sounds like: Early Black Flag with a somewhat modern twist.
Score: 8/10
Let me start this review by stating that I am a fan of Black Flag, especially their early records. I’m talking about the stuff included on the likes of Everything Went Black and The First Four Years. In fact, I think everything about Black Flag’s debut EP, Nervous Breakdown, is perfect: the artwork, Greg Ginn’s guitar tone, the opening drum roll to the song “Nervous Breakdown,” Keith Morris’s burned out surf bum vocals, etc.
I will also state for the record that I love the Circle Jerks, and with the exception of the much maligned major label LP, I can honestly say that I’m into all of their other five studio albums. There’s just something about the Jerks that separates them from the bigger flock of 80s punk bands. The catchy tunes, sarcastic lyrics, and Keith Morris’s awesome vocals all come together in such a wonderful way (pun intended).
Q: So what do you get when you put the two aforementioned bands together?
A: A raging new punk band called OFF! with none other than Keith Morris on vocals.
What was originally intended to be new Circle Jerks material eventually evolved into a whole new band entirely, and after a series of 7” EPs, OFF! is back with their first proper full length. I will, however, use the term “full length” loosely for this review, as this LP delivers sixteen songs in under sixteen minutes. Hell, less than half of the songs on this album break the one minute mark!
And that’s probably my only gripe with this band, as many times I feel like I’m listening to bits and pieces of what could be some really outstanding hardcore songs. I personally think a few of these jams would be better if they were fleshed out a little more, with something more than a verse and chorus on repeat before the song is over. The song structure basically follows the musical blueprint laid out on Black Flag’s Nervous Breakdown EP, which sounds rad in theory, but sixteen tracks later it all just seems a bit repetitious.
Keith Morris still delivers the goods lyrically, and he chooses to alternate between a few sociopolitical stabs and a more personal style of storytelling that reads like a twisted history of living in Los Angeles sometime between the late 70s and early 90s. Morris also takes another shot at his old band, Black Flag, with the cut “I Got News For You” (as if the name OFF! wasn’t slap in the face enough) and later declares, “My life was saved by Darby Crash.” His trademark vocal delivery hasn’t changed much in over 30 years, and I must add that it is great to see a true punk veteran creating something new in 2012 instead of joining the “hardcore karaoke retirement home.”
I also dig the fact that OFF! continues to employ the iconic artwork and logo they initially used for their First Four EPs box set. Raymond Pettibone (aka Greg Ginn’s brother) was responsible for much of the classic Black Flag imagery, including the infamous “bars” logo, and he continues to establish a distinctive style for this new band. Record layouts have become a lost art for some in the age of internet downloads, and while I do agree that the music is the more important of the two mediums in this case, it is cool to see an artist and band form a consistent collaboration.
The naysayers could probably debate endlessly about old punk dudes being backed by a hipster magazine like Vice, but one simple fact remains: this is classic style punk rock that rips. If you like early Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, I can guarantee that you will at least enjoy the new OFF! album. It’s certainly not as invigorating as hearing Group Sex for the first time, but such landmark listening experiences are rarely recreated, even when attempted by one of the originators.
-Lance Wells
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