OFF! - OFF!

Keith Morris. From Black Flag and Circle Jerks… he’s the one responsible for the yelling and all the vocal fury of this band. Dimitri Coats reminds the audience and the listener of what Greg Ginn used to do on the guitar in his early days in Black Flag, when he was an important player in the creation of Hardcore Punk. Mario Rubalcaba is - in addition to being a pro skater - drummer in a bunch of band such as Earthless, Thingy, Rocket From the Crypt and Hot Snakes… but probably the main source of energy (both on albums and in shows) in OFF! and the other bands. Steve McDonald is another veteran of punk, a founding member of Red Cross, since the time Ron Reyes was the band’s drummer, before replacing Keith Morris in Black Flag. When they unite, these 4 forces make music that will withstand a nuclear explosion … together with cockroaches and Lemmy. In fact the probability that it was OFF! to trigger this explosion is pretty high.

OFF! is supposedly the band’s debut, but theoretically they had already released The First Four EPs (a play on the Black Flag compilation The First Four Years) in 2010. There’s no change in the sound, style, instruments … it’s just a continuation. To listen to an OFF! album is like listening to a new AC/DC or Obituary album: you know what to expect, but you still feel like breaking plates in the kitchen from the enthusiasm and the energy they bring you.

“Well, Matei, all blah-blah until now, but how’s the music???” you must already be thinking impatiently, with your eyes glued to the screen. Well, imagine how Black Flag would have sounded if Keith Morris had remained in the band, and they hadn’t changed their style. All these songs might as well belong to an extended version of the first Black Flag EP Nervous Breakdown, or outtake from Everything Turned Black. And when I write this, I also mean the sound: Keith and Dimitri (who is also the producer) have chosen to keep the exact sound as in Black Flag, Dimitri even changed his guitar playing from his former band, Burning Brides.

You get 16 songs no longer than 2 minutes apiece, about all sorts of subjects, social and personal (i.e. I’ve Got News for You nonchalantly targets Greg Ginn, Feelings Are Meant to Be Hurt is for Greg Hetson – guitarist in Keith’s second and, Circle Jerks, and guitarist of Bad Religion… and the main reason for which OFF! was formed).

The artwork for all OFF! releases is done by the famous Raymond Pettibone, responsible for most posters with Black Flag and other bands of the SST label in the 80s… and also Greg Ginn’s brother. It is like a second chance for generations who did not catch Black Flag in their time, or the fulfilment of a “what if” wish about the first Black Flag line-up. If you’re into punk, proto-punk, hardcore, garage or hard rock… this album is filled with simple and rough hits that will catch you! It sounds like a new sensation of punk, with ages 16 to 25, not at all around 50!!! Overall... man it sounds good!

Matei T. Nota: 9