Review Summary: NOFX demonstrate furious punk rock from olden days, combined with melodious harmonies, and topped off with a healthy dose of brilliantly liberal politics
This album has been criticised by some of NOFX’s older fans, and it’s easy to see why. Gone are the days of recklessness of ‘You drink You drive You spill’ and ‘Drugs are good’, although the band definitely retains a comic edge. NOFX have taken more of a political stance than usual, building on the work of the excellent ‘The Decline’, and other statements, such as ‘Perfect Government’. The album length is just over 36 minutes, and packs in 14 songs in this time.
The album starts with
‘The Separation of Church and Skate’, and this is a furious indictment of the punk rock scene, with blazing guitars and a steady build up at the beginning of the song that eventually explodes into a tune that makes you want to stand up, jump, fight and rage. Fat Mike trades off the vocals, and their pace gives the song a sharp edge. NOFX are truly passionate about their subject here, a criticism backed up with truth, ‘these f***ing bands all sound the same’. The same angry tone is carried on, into
‘The Irrationality of Rationality’ , which is a similarly damning criticism of corporate bosses who do not care about the people they swindle (‘when one makes 20 million and 10 thousand people lose / what keeps that one from swallowing a shotgun’) and army, with three individual tales of Frank, Dan and finally Helen, a mother who was one of those 10 thousand that lost.
‘The Idiots are Taking Over’ is again similar, and is one of the best songs on the album, incredibly angry about the state of society and the rulers who control America. There is even a ska-breakdown towards the end of the song, which quickly gets sucked back up into the punk as it nears its conclusion.
‘Re-gaining Unconsciousness’ is one of the best songs on the CD, mixing melody with a disdainful view on the Republican society of today, the song extols the virtues of freedom, pleading for fairness, disappointedly exclaiming that ‘diversity is now our biggest fear’. It is my personal favourite song from here, combining occasional ska-rhythms with punk rock at its best.
Franco Un-American is a far more pop-punk-ska flavoured song, which has a sing-a-long chorus, and is a story of what is wrong with the world today. It is slower in pace and tempo, but will be a fan favourite. I also, whilst listening to NOFX back catalogue, realised how similar this songs musical element is to "Quart in Session" from "So Long and Thanks for all the Shoes", it recycles the same beat and melody, although i prefer it here.
Anarchy Camp is the only true ska song on the album, and it is an amusing diatribe into the ‘joys of anarchism’. NOFX seem to be poking fun at some of the stupidity surrounding anarchism, but also in parts also respect some of the thoughts about it, as seen from influence in other songs. Playing along with NOFX’s more jovial, jokey side, is
She’s Nubs , which is a song about a famous fan of theirs who has no arms or legs, and it is stupid in nature (‘I hope she thinks this song is good / not bad’), but it is friendly and can raise a smile.
’13 Stitches’ is another crowd pleaser, it has a slightly slower tempo than most, and is ska-tinged, and very sing along able too. It has that NOFX humour that makes you grin, but not laugh out loud, in its silliness, (‘my bloodstained shirt smelt of her cigarettes / but it sure looked pretty cool after a wash’).
’Medio-core’ is NOFX making another point about the blandness of some songs, and you get the feeling that this song is deliberately bland and quiet in parts to prove a point, a good song, but only if you can appreciate why it is how it is.
‘Mattersville’ and
‘Decom-poseur’ are also quieter, without having any screamed vocals, but whilst the former is an amusing chain of thought about the band members in a few years time, and what they will be doing, the latter is a snide poke at this generation ‘emo-kids’, who are ‘so innocent, but guilty is [their] plea’.
‘We Got Two Jealous Again’ is another complaint about musical similarities, of a lack of originality, like Medio-core, but this is more up-tempo and amusing.
‘American Errorist (Hate Hate Haters)’ has a similar build up start to the earlier tracks, although lyrically is perhaps weaker, because NOFX have written better lyrics about the same subject, war and stupidity in the American government. The song is fast, and it is easy to imagine played live, to the delight of their audience.
My least favourite song on the album is the song
‘Whoops, I OD’d’ , which is the binary opposite of songs they had produced earlier in their careers, although NOFX have always celebrated change for the better. An example of this is their first album; ‘Liberal Animation’ castigated vegetarianism, but since then, Fat Mike has become a vegetarian himself, and when asked if he felt stupid having made the album, he replied “We were c***s”. (This can be found in the Q & A section of the NOFX website). However, the song is boring I feel musically, although NOFX have proved that they can do excellent acoustic style songs with ‘You’re Wrong’, but this song does not live up to that standard.
It is a fantastic CD, which will attract new listeners, as well as delighting the previous fans who are open to change, although single minded fans of the earlier work may have less to enjoy here. It celebrates what NOFX have to offer, from amusing lines in ‘She’s Nubs’, to ska in ‘Anarchy Camp’, popular tunes such as ‘Franco Un-American’, but foremost, punk rock anger, passion and politics in the best tracks on the album:
The Separation of Church and Skate
The Idiots are Taking Over
Re-gaining Unconsciousness
