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Now, NOFX is always good for a surprise, but will they really be able to surprise me? After 12 studio albums, you know the band.
Or?
“First Ditch Effort“ manages the feat of being NOFX while also surprising!
Of course, NOFX is NOFX. There’s nothing that can change that.
Classic NOFX punk rock songs like “Six Years on Dope“ are 100% NOFX.
Even the just 01:14 minute long “Happy Father’s Day“ is exactly what we know and love. That’s NOFX!
While listening, it quickly becomes clear that this is all NOFX. These are all songs you expect from the band, yet they are a bit different.
Lyrically and in the dramaturgy of their arrangements, the songs are even better than what we know. Of course, a smile, a mischievous grin, and the melody of good cheer once again serve as the common thread that runs through the album. But this common thread is not dyed biologically, but with the blood of reality and the thorns of the roses you give away. Woe to the beloved if she pricks herself on these...
The band around Fat Mike has managed to release an album that is everything one wishes for from the band and yet only meets as many expectations as necessary to not scare off the fans.
Songs like “I Don’t Like Me Anymore“ and “Dead Beat Mom“ show that not everything is peace, joy, and pancakes.
In addition to the twelve punk rock songs, there is a thirteenth song with “Generation Z“, which is a long piece. The track lasts over five minutes. It might be the best, because the most intelligent and at the same time contradictory piece on the album. It navigates through the cosmos of NOFX. Reality, dreams, longing, concrete action, being happy...
With “First Ditch Effort“, NOFX has released the best album in a long time for me. I wouldn’t have expected that from the band. The more surprised I am...and the happier.
