NOFX
Single Album
Fat Wreck Chords (2021)
This record is honestly kind of painful. It’s meant to be, too. It’s about depression, drug abuse, death and all kinds of dark material. And it works on that level, but it’s also painful because the NOFX sound puts Fat Mike’s vocals so front-and-center in everything: It’s like watching somebody standing under a spotlight while hitting rock bottom. The lyrics on this record are overtly personal and first-person. I have no idea if this is by design, or if it’s based on the timing of when he wrote he songs, but it’s also infuriating to listen to somebody so personally expel their feelings and flaws in one song, only to contradict the lesson and fall into old patterns in the next track. So, to sum it up, Single Album is the story of Fat Mike’s rehab. As he says in “Birmingham,” “When I’m with NOFX or having fun in sex/ I seem to function/ When I’m alone it’s self-destruction. And, case in point, many of the rhymes on this record are…beyond the pale. Originally planned as a double album and then trimmed down, Single Album follows recent records, starting with the up-close-and-personal Cokie The Clown, then the self-discovery of Self-Entitled … Read more
Lingua Ignota
Sinner Get Ready
Sargent House (2021)
It is an act of courage to redefine oneself. Especially when the initial recipe and direction has been exciting and … Read more
Wills Dissolve
Echoes
Hypnotic Dirge Records (2020)
I think it’s a good rule of thumb to assume if some band has their album art done by Adam … Read more
Silent Island
The Curse of Coleodeia
Independent (2020)
Hungarian musician Csarnogurszky István is quite prolific, helming Black Hill, musicformessier, Realm of Wolves, Stvannyr, and of course Silent Island. … Read more
