Rancid and NOFX
The BYO Split Series Vol. III
(Better Youth Organization)
By: Tom Birner - ModernRock.com
The fast paced new compilation from these oh so cultivated lads is not something I would recommend falling asleep to. The first six songs were originally written and recorded by NOFX. Here they’re played by Rancid. Themes covered in such songs as “Don’t Call Me White,” “Brews,” and “Vanilla Sex” include drunkenness, anger, pornography, and censorship- the first three of which are, not surprisingly, celebrated. Hey, it’s called ‘punk’ for a reason. However this lack of seriousness seems to create a demographic isolation- meaning in a world without adolescent white males, these guys would most likely be selling records instead of making them.
Rancid doing NOFX fills up the second half of the disc, and it’s slightly better instrumentally. However, the songs still sound almost identical to those on the first half of the album. The only song that sounds different from any other is NOFX’s take on “Radio,” which turns into a reggae cut that almost makes Sublime look respectable. This album might make one wonder if every punk band is really only a cover of a preceding act.
The album does contain a sense of unbridled energy. The bass lines are fast and impressive, and the guitar is turned up to a characteristically splitting punk level, even going so far as to break the three chord/no solo rule- but only once or twice. The significant objection in listening to this album is that there is very little to distinguish one song from the next.
Ultimately, this collection comes across as being somewhat desperate- it contains no new tracks, and only a hardcore Rancid or NOFX fan might be interested in listening to each band’s rather tentative take on their counterpart’s songs.
In basing their lure on attitude and rebellion, the music itself is so incredibly simple and unsophisticated that it actually comes across as being anything but rebellious- did Bob Dylan have to sing (well, scream) about masturbating to write infinitely more audacious music? With a complete lack of metaphors or anything that doesn’t sound like a limerick popular in the third grade (‘There once was a man from Nantucket…’ comes to mind), it’s evident that the anarchistic attitude backfires, and the music actually isn’t bold at all. That each band can cover the others’ songs without missing a beat displays just how homogenous the music really is.
Rancid and NOFX can make a good racket, but I’d hardly call either band a serious musical act. It might be fun to get really loaded and go smash into people at a show, but the attitude displayed on the album doesn’t quite measure up.
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