OFF!’s self-titled debut album is full of all the aggression and speed you’d expect from a band fronted by ex-Circle Jerks and Black Flag singer Keith Morris. With all 16 songs (written by Morris and guitarist Demitri Coats of Burning Bridges) adding up to only 15 minutes and 44 seconds, it’s like being stabbed with a short knife: it won’t kill you, but you won’t forget it.
Born out of the same disillusioned spirit that drove the 70s and 80s hardcore punk bands, OFF! present an irresistible set of raw and visceral tracks that suck the listener in and gives them a joyous punch in the face. In lead single “Wiped Out”, Morris forces the words out of his body, like the air being pushed out of his lungs as he’s held down by crashing waves.
The album continues in this vein of snarling vocals, thrashing guitar, with bass and drums played at breakneck speed by Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) and Mario Rubalcaba (Hot Snakes) respectively, but powerful delivery keeps any sense of the album dragging on at bay.
There are some great lyrics on the record, “Borrow and Bomb” is an ode to destruction, and whilst the stream of consciousness “Cracked” is harder to decipher, you’ll be glad the phrase ‘Hardcore Karaoke retirement home’ is now in your vocabulary.
“King Kong Brigade” opens with clean, delicately strummed guitar chords and for a moment you almost think the second half will be completely different, until the Ramones-esque buzzsaw guitar kicks in and you’re right back where you want to be.
OFF!’s greatest strength is its consistency, with one track after the other channelling extreme amounts of energy that seem unrivalled in the last two decades of punk music. It’s not surprising this album is coming out of America at this point in time, with today’s economic and social situation surely reminiscent of that of the late 70s – that had members of Black Flag living out of vans on government cheese.
With lyrics like ‘Whiting out our Constitution/rewrite the rules to fit themselves/ Built us up on a false foundation/ the decline of Western Civilisation’ “Elimination” is a highlight, along with “Man From Nowhere”, “Harbor Freeway Blues”, “Zero for Conduct” and strong album closer “I Need One (I Want One)”.
OFF! expend unrivalled amounts of power on this release, and will be a must see come January’s Big Day Out.
– A.P. Morton
