Reviewed by:
southern_stylin, on july 14, 2009
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Sound: NoFx stays pretty true to the sound they've developed over the course of their last several albums. It's almost like Wolves in Wolves Clothing pt. II, which is not a bad thing. I'm glad to hear that they've started re-introducing more ska elements as they've always mixed in seamlessly with Fat Mikes shifting bass lines and the classic "Nofx drum beat'. Somehow NoFx has added a level of production to their more recent works that rivals mainstream albums in sound quality and yet doesn't sound forced or over-worked. Like most of their albums, they probably spent less than a month on this one, which speaks more for the spontaneous nature of the songs and less about musical content, which, for a punk band, has always been amazing. I would have liked it to be longer but, when all the songs are 2 or 3 minutes long I'll just settle for a new album every couple years. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: I don't know how Fat Mike comes up with some of the lyrics he sings. He's some kind of punk enigma in that regard, writing incredibly intelligent songs that are more than likely going to be lost on many casual fans. This album is a little more general in content than say, American Errorist, with only a couple politically charged songs. Still has all the typical NoFx lyrical content though, like: Alcoholism, lesbians, passing drug references, downfall of the record industry, the trouble with religious types, and of course... the rewards of homelessness. Mike still remains one of the most unique voices in not just punk but all music. And of course Melvin retains his trademrk 'Mel-Yell', although a little more sporadically this time out. No spanish from El Hefe however, too bad. // 9
Impression: As far as I can tell, there are not too many bands of this style that are sticking to their guns and staying the course for punk. I don't think Nofx will ever change, at least I hope not. I don't mind if the last few albums are somewhat similar, it's like one big long continued epic and it's all good. After all, they really have nothing left to prove to anyone musically. As long as they don't O.D. in the near future I suspect that they will continue to produce albums that are on par or better than this one. Although not my favorite (that honor belongs to the classic 'So Long....') I'm hard pressed to pick the best out of this, 'Wolves', 'Errorist' and even 'Pump'. I downloaded this, I'll admit, but after hearing it, I immediately went to the record shop and bought a copy. Can't wait for the vinyl version 'Frisbee' from the 7" of month club. If other mainstream 'punk' bands can release 7 albums with only 3 or 4 chords imagine what Nofx can achieve with at least 5 or 6. // 10
/ my profile 
Was this review helpful to you? 