Review: OFF! - Wasted Years
[Vice; 2014]
Rating: 7/10
By Sam Boyer, Blogs Editor
Key Tracks: “Hypnotized,” “Exorcised,” “You Must Be Damned”
Two punks walk into a bar, but the night doesn’t end in a couple of punches or a punch line. Instead, these punks have a few drinks and argue about the state of punk rock these days.
“Punk’s dead,” says Johnny matter-of-factly. “All those emo kids fuckin’ killed it with their eyeliner and fuckin’ girl pants.”
“I dunno, man,” slurs Joey, three drinks in. “That’s a pretty heavy statement. There are plenty of punk bands out there. What about OFF!?” Johnny perks up.
“Oh, yeah!” he exclaims. “Those guys are great. That’s a real punk band. Probably one of the only ones left.”
“I dunno if I’d say that,” Joey says. “There are still some great punk bands out there right now. What about those Russian chicks? Pussy Riot, I think?”
“Nah, man,” says Johnny, waving away the suggestion. “Those girls might have something to rebel against, but their music sucks. All they do is protest and shit.”
“Since when has punk just been about the music?” asks Joey. “Isn’t it about the attitude? Isn’t it a lifestyle?”
“Well, yeah, it’s a lifestyle, but the lifestyle has a soundtrack, man,” Johnny says. “Like, have you heard that new OFF! record? It’s fuckin’ perfect.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” Joey says. “I really like that song ‘Hypnotized.’ It’s got this abrasive guitar riff that kind of reminds me of Henry Rollins-era Black Flag. And it’s the only song over two minutes, which is cool. It lingers a while. It’s not just a quick riff and half a chorus like the rest of the album.”
“That one’s cool, I guess,” Johnny says with a shrug. “But I really like the shorter songs. Like ‘Exorcised’--it’s loud, fast and angry. That’s how punk should be--quick and painful.”
“Well, maybe that’s how punk used to be, but things evolve over time,” says Joey, starting to sober up. “This OFF! record is great in the sense that it has a consistent sound. These songs sound the same as the first record. And while it’s executed very well, the consistency is kind of disappointing. I mean, even Black Flag changed its sound between the first record and the last.”
Johnny finishes beer number five and shoots Joey an angry look. How can he find faults in punk rock?
“They don’t need to start playing accordions or some shit to be cool,” growls Johnny. “Their sound is pure punk. And they’ve even got the pedigree! Keith Morris was in Black Flag and Circle Jerks! What more could you want?”
“More ambition,” Joey says, as if the answer were too obvious. “There are only so many minute-long songs a punk band can play before they all start sounding the same. They’re definitely capable of something much more creative.”
“So are you saying you hate this band?” Johnny asks, leaning threateningly close to Joey’s face. Joey flinches, but answers calmly.
“Nah, man,” he assures. “The guys in OFF! are great at what they do. Songs like ‘Void You Out’ and ‘You Must Be Damned’ are the very essence of everything punk. But there’s so much more ground to cover. You’ve got more modern punk bands like Fucked Up and Perfect Pussy pushing the boundaries of the genre while OFF! just kind of idles in familiar territory.”
“So, wait--do you like this album, or not?” Johnny asks, now confused on top of drunk. Joey laughs and pays his tab.
“Yeah, I like it,” he says, standing up. “It makes me nostalgic for the early days of punk. But I kind of want this band to start making some mistakes so they can grow a little bit.”
Johnny nods absently, then calls after Joey, “Wait! Is Perfect Pussy seriously the name of a band?”
