These are numbers six and seven of the twelve singles in a year for NOFX. What’s settling in is that NOFX, and in particular Fat Mike, has been able to quietly reinvent the band. They’ve realized their strengths—the music’s instantly NOFX, just more sophisticated and less metal—kept them, but are still growing in a completely different direction from where they started. All without alienating their core fans. For a band that started off with dick and fart jokes and midpointed with bestiality and the joys of vaginal fisting, they’ve evolved into becoming the musical equivalent of Al Franken. Equal parts humor and political commentary. You’d of been a boner to utter the words “astute political and sociological commentary” when listening to S & M Airlines, but now, it’s spot on, especially thinking this is going right into the headphones of kids who have a choice between this and, say, Korn. The other long-ranging theme? Dead friends or friends who make poor life decisions; something almost all of us can relate to.
–todd (Fat)