Review By: Josh Blackway

Off the Record is one of those bands that might get lost in the clutter of the thousands upon thousands of “new school punk” bands, most of which hail from southern California. Its almost impossible to put out new music that reigns in this typical style and have it be anything really new to the ears unless the melodies have something more that makes the song stay in your head while you’re sitting in school or at work, and just waiting to get out to your car to pop the CD in again and fulfill the craving. Was that a run-on sentence? Maybe. Is this a run-on band? Meaning, do they continue on, not changing their styles to fit in with the (here comes everyone’s favorite word) “emo” influenced genres that everyone thinks has to be part of music in order to be popular? (Get all that?) Yes, they are a run-on band… and yes, I did just make that phrase up on my own. However, that is what I like about Off the Record. They started out in 1997 as a new school punk band from southern California, and that’s exactly what they are today. They’re even signed with New School Records! They progress in lyrical content and musical ideas, but their fast kick drum heart remains the same.

The most appropriate thing about this new EP happens to be its title: “Nothing New”. These 5-songs are just what you should expect from this kind of band. The melodies are catchy, the guitars have obvious metal influences, and there’s the occasional hardcore scream in the background vocals. The track that stands out to me as the catchiest is Losers Never Win. This track also stands out as the best lyrical content: “You fill the void with emptiness from all your fears, you run away just let it go, fallback on me, the smallest step...”

I mean, its pretty good! Its nothing really special… and there’s nothing to complain about here either. This EP was produced by Ryan Green (NOFX, Lagwagon, etc.). The production quality is as good as it can possibly be. There’s even a 10 minute video you can watch on your computer that includes some live stuff, the history of the band (as told by singer, Keith Allen) and a video for the song The Death of Me. What more can I say? If you like fast-metallic-in your face-new school-punk rock… this new Off the Record EP will stay in your rotation for a long time.