OFF!

Off! will vindicate anyone who hasn’t bothered to check in with punk since the early ’80s. Vocalist Keith Morris (of Circle Jerks and early Black Flag fame) and band plunge into that period with excoriating relish and the kind of riffs that make it hard to miss the innovations of more math-y hardcore bands. On their debut, First Four EPs, and the new self-titled follow-up, songs like “Killing Away,” “Fuck People,” and “Zero Conduct” have about one point each and 90 seconds or (usually) less to carve it into the nearest exposed bit of flesh. Morris’ unrepentantly snide delivery and art from SST regular Raymond Pettibon only add to the feeling that the West Coast fury never got old. 

Updated 05/14/2012