NOFX
NOFX 7"
Fat Records
2011
After 28 years together, countless releases and impressive record sales NOFX have become one of the most respected bands in the punk scene and may feel that they have earned the right to do and release whatever the hell they want (not that they didn’t do that in the first place). He may divide opinion, but the oft polarizing ringleader of this chaotic circus, Fat “Mike” Burkett, has got his rewards and accolades without any outside help and never once having to compromise his independent principles. Whatever your opinion of the often immature and outwardly offensive band, they do hold the enviable honour of being the biggest selling totally independent band in the world today in any genre of music. Admittedly I can’t remember many bands from the oft bloated and grandiose worlds of metal and pop music choosing to embark on such a risky career path but you get my point. NOFX have proved that provided your band is good enough it is possible to avoid the musical miasma of major labels and MTV and thus become masters of your own destiny. Mike is as bemused as anyone else as to the bands tremendous success as evidenced during a particularly reflective moment on an episode of the bands brilliant behind the scenes documentary “Backstage Passport.”Standing in the middle of Russia’s iconic Red Square, Mike turns to the camera and says the following: ‘We are the fucking luckiest band! We get to travel the world and play shows and make a living. How?? We don’t have a hit!! There’s no sex appeal in our band! We...we’re just the fucking luckiest band!” See the thing is, when NOFX coalesced in 1983 playing punk was in no way a good career move. The scene was on its last legs and was being overshadowed by the bleeping poncy spectre of new wave. The increasing violence and fragmentation of the hardcore scene meant many people were beginning to shun bands that played this kind of music. On NOFX’s first DVD “10 Years of fucking up” Mike commented that one show they played “had 6 people...and four of those were the band we were touring with!” It is only through sheer persistence and hard work that bands like NOFX and Bad Religion managed to come through the barren times and continue on to reap much deserved rewards later on when the punk scene revived itself. No matter what Mike says, NOFX survived, in this reviewer’s humble
opinion, because the talent they had for creating timeless melodic hardcore songs and a sheer love for the music that they were playing. This is where this release slots into NOFX’s extensive and frankly intimidating discography. The songs on this record are all covers of obscure hardcore songs from the 1980’s and a sure-fire tip of the hat to the scene that spawned this remarkable band. The bands covered on this record will only be recognisable to the most ardent hardcore aficionado and this fact alone places Mike, Hefe, Melvin and Erik at the top of Hardcore Hipsterdom! Recorded in one afternoon for fun, this 7” promises to be a blast. Below is a track by track run through of what to expect including the song title followed by the band that is being covered.
Friend or Foe (Agnostic Front): NOFX have done a wonderful thing and made this release sound as if it was recorded in a basement by four teenagers in 1981.They treat the songs with respect and reverence by injecting them with the same frenetic and furious spirit. The guitars are suitably distorted and rough and Melvin’s sublime hardcore shout or “Mell Yell” proves a perfect fit for Roger Mirets frantic growling delivery. The song is blisteringly fast and played with all the energy required to kick things off in true hardcore style.
IQ32 (The Necros): The best 23 second song you will ever hear in your life. Melvin steps up a gear for this one and knocks it out at blistering speed. NOFX have an amazing knack for sounding both tight and sloppy at the same time, which I think is a lot of their appeal. They do sloppy very very well.
Police Brutality (Urban Waste): Melvin continues on this thrasher that pounds along for 47 seconds of classic hardcore. The rhythms start and stop on a dime and the aggressively
confrontational lyrics about wanting “to see a mountain of dead cops” is a par for the course in this genre.
Mental Breakdown (Social Unrest): The band tread a slightly slower and more melodic route for this one although keeping Melvin on vocal duties means the lyrics come out sounding slurred and
off key...and that’s the point. The sludgier nature of this song means it’s not one of my favourites.
No More Lies (Battalion of Saints): NOFX bravely decide to tackle a song by one of the most underrated but important early hardcore bands and do so with aplomb. A slow guitar intro, that sounds like it was played out of a fly amp, gives way to another super fast thrashy monster. Fat Mike and Melvin trade off lines as the band rips along at a million rpm. The vocals are frantic but lower in the mix which gives the song the feel of being recorded at an aggressive hardcore show. A fantastic song that fans of the genre, and of the Saints, will be pleased with.
Race Riot (D.O.A.): A chunky bassline starts the song which the full band soon crashes over. Hefe and Melvin trade lines for D.O.A’s call and response stomper. Hefe does a decent job of sounding snotty and remarkably like a young Fat Mike instead of Joey Shithead.
Say We Suck (Sin 34): The song starts with another muted riff until the band hits you with a wall of sound. The riff is sludgy and menacing like early Melvins or Nirvana but the song soon speeds
the fuck up as you’d expect. The lyrics of “Say We Suck...We Don’t Care” fit perfectly with NOFX’s own ambivalent attitude towards such criticisms. After all, they themselves have been selling “NOFX Sucks!” stickers to their fans on tour for years now.
Child Hosts the Parasite (Rebel Truth):One of the fastest and best songs on the record. The riff is your standard three chord affair and the drumming is a caterwaul of intense blast beats. Melvins vocals go up a key with every line until he’s almost straining, giving an already frantic song even more urgency.
Professional Punk (Stretch Marks): The most melodic song on the record and also one where Fat Mike’s presence is more prominent. The song starts with Fat Mike saying “Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m talking about” before leading an offkey sing-along. The guitar is distorted and the music is sloppy and off time before the band busts out the unrelenting thrash of the second half.
NOFX have truly captured all the elements that were great about the early hardcore scene and
distilled it down into a fun and thrashy 7”. The band sounds perfectly sloppy throughout whilst playing the rapid sections tightly. Melvin’s vocal style suits hardcore and it was a very wise decision to put him on lead vocals for the majority of the songs. One of the best things about NOFX is their sense of fun and when the band can make music sound as fun and effortless as this they’re
onto a real winner. It’s not essential NOFX by any means but really worth it if you’re fans of both NOFX and the hardcore genres and you have a couple of quid lying around.
Score: 8/10
For Fans of: Hardcore, Battalion of Saints, D.O.A.
BadIdeaDan for MLM
opinion, because the talent they had for creating timeless melodic hardcore songs and a sheer love for the music that they were playing. This is where this release slots into NOFX’s extensive and frankly intimidating discography. The songs on this record are all covers of obscure hardcore songs from the 1980’s and a sure-fire tip of the hat to the scene that spawned this remarkable band. The bands covered on this record will only be recognisable to the most ardent hardcore aficionado and this fact alone places Mike, Hefe, Melvin and Erik at the top of Hardcore Hipsterdom! Recorded in one afternoon for fun, this 7” promises to be a blast. Below is a track by track run through of what to expect including the song title followed by the band that is being covered.
Friend or Foe (Agnostic Front): NOFX have done a wonderful thing and made this release sound as if it was recorded in a basement by four teenagers in 1981.They treat the songs with respect and reverence by injecting them with the same frenetic and furious spirit. The guitars are suitably distorted and rough and Melvin’s sublime hardcore shout or “Mell Yell” proves a perfect fit for Roger Mirets frantic growling delivery. The song is blisteringly fast and played with all the energy required to kick things off in true hardcore style.
IQ32 (The Necros): The best 23 second song you will ever hear in your life. Melvin steps up a gear for this one and knocks it out at blistering speed. NOFX have an amazing knack for sounding both tight and sloppy at the same time, which I think is a lot of their appeal. They do sloppy very very well.
Police Brutality (Urban Waste): Melvin continues on this thrasher that pounds along for 47 seconds of classic hardcore. The rhythms start and stop on a dime and the aggressively
confrontational lyrics about wanting “to see a mountain of dead cops” is a par for the course in this genre.
Mental Breakdown (Social Unrest): The band tread a slightly slower and more melodic route for this one although keeping Melvin on vocal duties means the lyrics come out sounding slurred and
off key...and that’s the point. The sludgier nature of this song means it’s not one of my favourites.
No More Lies (Battalion of Saints): NOFX bravely decide to tackle a song by one of the most underrated but important early hardcore bands and do so with aplomb. A slow guitar intro, that sounds like it was played out of a fly amp, gives way to another super fast thrashy monster. Fat Mike and Melvin trade off lines as the band rips along at a million rpm. The vocals are frantic but lower in the mix which gives the song the feel of being recorded at an aggressive hardcore show. A fantastic song that fans of the genre, and of the Saints, will be pleased with.
Race Riot (D.O.A.): A chunky bassline starts the song which the full band soon crashes over. Hefe and Melvin trade lines for D.O.A’s call and response stomper. Hefe does a decent job of sounding snotty and remarkably like a young Fat Mike instead of Joey Shithead.
Say We Suck (Sin 34): The song starts with another muted riff until the band hits you with a wall of sound. The riff is sludgy and menacing like early Melvins or Nirvana but the song soon speeds
the fuck up as you’d expect. The lyrics of “Say We Suck...We Don’t Care” fit perfectly with NOFX’s own ambivalent attitude towards such criticisms. After all, they themselves have been selling “NOFX Sucks!” stickers to their fans on tour for years now.
Child Hosts the Parasite (Rebel Truth):One of the fastest and best songs on the record. The riff is your standard three chord affair and the drumming is a caterwaul of intense blast beats. Melvins vocals go up a key with every line until he’s almost straining, giving an already frantic song even more urgency.
Professional Punk (Stretch Marks): The most melodic song on the record and also one where Fat Mike’s presence is more prominent. The song starts with Fat Mike saying “Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m talking about” before leading an offkey sing-along. The guitar is distorted and the music is sloppy and off time before the band busts out the unrelenting thrash of the second half.
NOFX have truly captured all the elements that were great about the early hardcore scene and
distilled it down into a fun and thrashy 7”. The band sounds perfectly sloppy throughout whilst playing the rapid sections tightly. Melvin’s vocal style suits hardcore and it was a very wise decision to put him on lead vocals for the majority of the songs. One of the best things about NOFX is their sense of fun and when the band can make music sound as fun and effortless as this they’re
onto a real winner. It’s not essential NOFX by any means but really worth it if you’re fans of both NOFX and the hardcore genres and you have a couple of quid lying around.
Score: 8/10
For Fans of: Hardcore, Battalion of Saints, D.O.A.
BadIdeaDan for MLM