Review → Off With Their Heads – From the Bottom (2008)
Off With Their Heads - From the Bottom
Off With Their Heads are a fairly new band to come out of the apparently fertile punk land of Minneapolis. They clearly listen to a lot of DIllinger Four, subscribing to the same gritty, darkly humorous take on punk that D4 does so well. From the Bottom is either their debut record, or sophomore effort, depending on if you count the Hospitals 10″ as a proper album. At any rate, this is their first LP, though you might have heard the aforementioned 10″ record, or any of their numerous 7″ releases, split 7″s, or compilation contributions.
The album kicks off with “I Am You,” a track that outlines the band’s pessimistic views, and sets up the themes for the rest of the album with the repeated verse “I’ll tell you why I fuckin’ hate my life and/I’ll tell you why I can’t seem to get it right/I’ll tell you why I entertain the thought of dying all the time.” These guys have to be the least-uplifting pop-punk band to hit in a long time. It’s one thing to moan about girls; in OWTH’s world, everyone seems to be dying. Case in point, the album’s closer “I Hope You Know” is a mournful plea for never having made things right before the person the song is directed to died. And suicide rears its head a few times, in the above “I Am You,” as well as the end of the single “Fuck This, I’m Out.” I don’t know what’s happening up in Minnesota, but it’s made for quartet of dour young men.
And while nothing seems to go right for lead singer/guitarist Ryan over the course of these 12 tracks, the music the band pumps out to back his rough, throaty growl is fast and powerful. Their brand of punk is busy and driving, even when the tempos slow down on songs like “Go On Git Now,” which provides nice breaks in the action, to keep the album from flying by too quickly.
Off With Their Heads have put out a really great record, and it will surely find itself on many punk-oriented best-of lists. Pitchfork will likely not care for it, but that’s their loss. Do yourself a favor and check out this album.
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