Back in February of this year I signed up for NOFX’s 7″ Of The Month Club and after a long ass wait and several delays the first 2 vinyls of my set are here. Having missed out on the original 7″ Of The Month Club back in 2005, I was not going to let this one pass me by. The promise of 12 new NOFX songs on vinyl for ~$99 seemed like a reasonable price considering the typical cost of a 7″ and having been a NOFX fan for some time I’m always excited to hear something new from the band.
So before I dive into my review lets talk delays, because beginning last month I was starting to get genuinely worried that these were never going to show up. The plan from Fat Wreck Chords was to group two months into 1 shipment (So 2 vinyls every 2 months). As May rolled around and I had still not received any vinyls I reached out to Fat Wreck Chords genuinely worried that I actually fucked up the order process. I received an email back stating that I had not fucked up and there was unforeseen delays in making the vinyls. So I held tight. Then the rest of May, then June, then July where finally word came from Fat Wreck Chords that they were sorry for the unforeseen delays and those who placed orders should be getting a shipping email towards the end of the month. This email never came, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised when I opened my mailbox today and found my first set of vinyls (#1 & #3). Talking with a friend he remarked that this seemed pretty on brand for NOFX which I thought was funny considering one of my favorite tracks (Side A of Vinyl 3) is titled “Dont Count On Me”.
So lets hop into some takes from the 7″:
#1 (Side A) – Scareltt O’Heroin: This feels like one of the most lyrically personal tracks of the set. It also is in my opinion one of the most diverse musically. It covers both the fast paced NOFX that I have always loved combined with some more intricate slower breakdowns. I may also be a bit biased because being a bassist I think this track has a really fucking sick bass tone.
#1 (Side B) – Doors N’ Fours: This track continues to deliver sick bass tones right off the bat. That said, overall I think this song is my least favorite of the set. It’s a song lyrically about punks dying off in LA from OD’ing but musically it just seemed a little meh which was a bummer because like I said the Bass Tone at the beginning is fucking sick. Its not a bad track it just leaves a little to be desired.
#3 (Side A) – Dont Count On Me: This is by far my favorite track of the lot. There is something about the sound of this song that makes it feel the most NOFXish. It does what I feel some of the best NOFX songs do and combines a decent dose of humor with a personal message that is relatable to the listener. This song makes this 7″ worth it alone. Also “Its not that I don’t care, I just don’t care very much” may be my new personal mantra.
#3 (Side B) – There’s No “Too Soon” If Time Is Relative: This track reminds me of something that was a B side for “The War on Errorism”. Musically its fairly stripped down and straight forward but lyrically its a dig at Stephen Hawking and how sometimes you “Dont feeling like moving, don’t feel like talking”. It’s by no means “PC” but does that really surprise anyone coming from Fat Mike anymore?
Overall Im fairly happy with these first two 7″s of the set. On first listen I don’t think I was as sold as I am now having listened to them a few times for this review. Although they aren’t my favorite NOFX songs to date they do a good job of capturing what a solid 7″ should do and leave me eager and ready to hear some more. Stay tuned for my review of the next two when they show up hopefully sometime soon.
It’s just a phase…