Punk In Drublic: An Instant Classic (Punk In Drublic - NOFX)

Member Name: happypelican

Product:	Punk In Drublic - NOFX
Date:	17/11/05 (411 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Punk Sensibilities, Good Humour, Catchy Melodies

Disadvantages: None

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of Punk In Drublic, NOFX's sixth full-length album. At the time of its release bands like Green Day, The Offspring and Bad Religion were signing to major labels and performing on MTV; factors which, coupled with NOFX's vehement anti-commercialism policy (one which, seemingly, has latterly been relaxed somewhat), served to put this record into the shadows when in all truth it should have been the stepping stone to much greater success.

Still, this does in no way detract from the fact that this album, clocking in at around 40 minutes, is a pure gem from first to last. Unlike on many previous releases the band resist the urge to sway into reggae-esque slapstick or punctuate songs by jamming in metal solos for a minute or two and instead pull an incredibly well structured work out of the bag, one which is arguably on terms with the great Bad Religion records "Suffer" and "No Control" by which the band had been heavily influenced in the late-80s.

Not unlike "Suffer", this album works on a great number of levels, not least that the sheer energy displayed by the group drives relentlessly through the release. It appears that the band had taken the incredibly melancholy predecessor, "White Trash, Two Heebs and A Bean", and strapped it to a stripped-down, raw, pulsating engine of massive proportions.

One of the great glories of this particular CD is that it goes so much beyond the music. In order to fully appreciate the depth to the work, one must listen attentively to the almost perfectly disguised flailing desperation exuded by Fat Mike, the band's vocalist, and appreciate the perspective he tries to put across. Taken lightly and given a few listens, this record can be easily discarded as "pretty good"; Punk In Drublic fully cogitated, considered and digested is an experience so much beyond the inane poppy-punk (admittedly very enjoyable) that NOFX have offered at other times.

In many ways, "Linoleum" is the perfect opener. First, the distant voice of El Hefe stumbles over some rapily improvised melody for a few brief seconds before driving his guitar into the opening chords of the song, all the while being led gently into the opening refrain by Eric Sandin's punctuated drum fill. Eventually, the fill lets go, leaving Hefe and Erik Melvin to blast through the four chord progression NOFX have claimed as their own over the years. Temporarily, the track slows again, with Sandin easing off, before the whole band kick off the verse with devastating effect. "Possessions never meant anything to me" admits Mike, lucidly, "I'm not crazy...well that's not true: I got a bed and a guitar". At first listen this might seem to resemble the unnecessarily stupid outings on previous albums, such as "Cheese - Where's My Slice" or the criminal "I Live In A Cake", but no. These days are behind the band. Closer listening reveals exactly what Mike is implying here:

"I've got pockets full of kleenex and lint and holes
Where everything important to me
Just seems to fall right down my leg
And on to the floor
My closest friend linoleum"

The agonising repeat of "linoleum" at the end adds sheer power to the track and confirms suspicions that Mike is in fact referring to his own life's experiences. Empty, lonely, introspective. We have all been there, yet Mike vocalises it better than many of us ever could: "That's me on the back of the bus;
That's me in the cell" he attests; "that's me inside your head". No matter how much he may want to be someone else: successful, prosperous, self-assured; however much he may dream, he cannot escape the axiomatic conclusion that this is HIS life, nobody else's. Whenever he thinks that things are looking up, the fact of who he is drags him back down again. The guitars drive on, long after the vocals desist, drawing to a close in a crisp sonic finish.

The respite barely lasts, however. Sandin and Hefe combine to crash into the opening of "Leave It Alone", the intended single from the release. Almsot hypnotic in its repetition, the intro has the listener under its power well in advance of the relenting of guitar and drums to ave a solitary string being plucked under the softened vocals of Fat Mike: "Breathe ever so soft" he offers, placcidly. "We wouldn't wanna break the eggs as we walk.
Never alone, cautious, afraid,
I hear the voice of reason on the P.A."

From here, the chorus kicks in, with Sandin playing a significant role by merely beating the drums along with the rhythm, which ultimately creates a great deal of energy. The band harmonise, and make the chorus their own. The cynical chant of "Na na na na na na na na" at the end is probably a refernce to the aforementioned notion of this becoming a single: the band had already proved on their previous album their contempt for the meaningless backing vocals on mainstream records. It is indeed one of the joys of the group that they can turn an affront into an entertaining, intelligent satire.

The end of the song is only signified by the flicking of the CD changer from 2 to 3: no finite juncture is ever suggested. Instead, Hefe picks out two chords and pummels them into submission, with Sandin and the bass of Mike along for the ride, before hte briefest of pauses preceeds the greatest song on the album: "Dig", a powerfully wielded political weapon disguised as a much less objective offering. Dig does not stand out on first listen, nor on the fifth, nor indeed on the tenth. Alternatively, it opts to defeat the listener slowly and methodically. Initially, track 3 is much too early for the audience to gather any inclination of just how beautifully Mike spears his words into the microphone: a direct injection.

Dig breaks in the middle for some Hefe-induced trumpet playing, but even this manages to find a place in the grand scheme of the song. Previously, outings like this would most probably have been dismissed by fans as novelties, but this time they make it stick.

Sandin keeps things simple with the drum intro the track four, "The Cause", and the minimalist effect serves the song well, for it is not until the track builds into its frenetic chorus that the instruments are allowed to breathe life into their music. "The cause; we're just doing it for the cause", claims Fat Mike, deliberately spuriously and cheekily, pertness derived from years of governmental claims to be working for the good of the people.

Don't Call Me White opens dramatically; Fat Mike's vocals highlighted intensely by Hefe's bleeding chords. This track contains some of NOFX's greatest lyrics, which need very little explanation:

"The connotations wearing my nerves thin
Could it be semantics generating the mess we're in?
I understand that language breeds stereotype
But what's the explanation for the malice, for the spite?

Don't call me white, Don't call me white"

A perfectly insightful view of contemporary American culture delivered so powerfully that even black activists such as Public Enemy would have been impressed. Towards the latter end of the song, Mike struggles to keep up with the speed, but this too is intentional, his paroxystic vocals lagging gently behind the guitar pull back into shape in the chorus, with even greater effect.

Succeeding this is Hefe's first major vocal outing on the record, singing the bizarre "My Heart Is Yearning", which, even more bizzarely, manages to keep the underlying emotive structure in place. Next up is a song written by a relative of Hefe entitled "Perfect Government". If there is any song that falls below the standard of the others, it is this.

Then comes The Brews. Skinhead anthem-cum-subtle irony, The Brews kills the semi-playful displays in the previous displays and kills them dead. A youth crew incorporated into the later choruses has a very strong vocalist at the lead; his voice sending shivers down the spine at the point where he single-handedly starts off the backing group again after a brief pause.

The short instrumental "The Quass" is another work of beauty that leads, following a roughly second-long guitar dredge, into the sensational "Dying Degree". Mike sets the scene effortlessly:
"Dresser drawers are filled with pocket change" he describes; "Coupons cut, cigarettes smoked down to the butt,
Is this how dreams are made?" Continuing in the vein of Linoleum, Mike now takes things on to a level somwhere in future, towards the end of his own life. His predictions are chilling, if somewhat fascinating:

"Final payment made - had you forgot?
The rightful owner of one deluxe cemetary plot
Paisley satin lined how apprapoe
What better way to go?"

The song is already affixed into the memory, but its existence is sealed towards the very end, with Mikes heart-rending admission of "No more eating crumbs
When my pension finally comes
Your kids want eat mush anymore 'round me". It is yet another example of how the mundane has become the exceptional given excellent vocals and musicianship.

Following this comes Fleas, another fairly generic track with an amplified sentiment of importance due to the chording and structure. Based on the concept of disregarding parents advice but still working out OK, Mike conveys this in a manner that shows he is most likely dealing once more with an experience from childhood. The emotions still rae, Mike makes the best use of this he can.

Lori Meyers, however, dismisses the build up to this as mere starters. Pumped full of regret, denial and an excellent guest performance from the female vocalist from felow punk band The Muffs, they combine to relate the stroy of a girl Mike used to know from when he was younger and felt really intimate with who has gone on to become a sex star, the twist being that Mike only discovers this upon purchasing a video. The gentle irony is indeed beautiful, but the sheer energy and emotion stuffed into the song tear into the feelings of even the most cold-hearted of listeners. Whether based on experience or not, this is truly an incredible song.

"Jeff Wears Birkenstocks" follows this, succeeded in quick succession by "Punk Guy". Both songs aim for a more humourous effect: another all-out torrent of despair and loss would infringe on the excellence of the previous track.

Next up comes Happy Guy, a song about a man who discovers God, but is dismissed by family and friends as illogical. The subject matter is touched upon sensitively, unlike a great many other punk songs dealing with religion. For this alone, NOFX deserve some credit.

Reeko, track 16, builds in with a reggae beat, one which may cause the disinterested listener to turn off. However, those who stick with it are rewarded with the sudden explosion after a couple of minutes, into a refrain of:

"Mr. President, please understand, it really is that bad
It won't just go away, it's just beginning
The ballots have been cast, we make like seaward rats
Leave this sinking ship, leave and not look back
The things we never tried to disallow
Have come back to haunt us now
With apple pie and chevrolet
We've come to see the end, we've all made this bed
Now we got nowhere to lay, dies and gentlemen
Try to understand"

The sheer intensity is increased by the two minute cooling-off period the record has given the listener; a well-thought out effect.

Scavenger Type is a slow, semi-acoustic number to end the album, an album which, given the time and consideration, can easily become one of the favourites of the listener.

Summary: Consistent, Lasting, Memorable, Wise, Witty