NOFX

Item: Pump Up the Valuum
Author: Chris

Pump Up the Valuum

(2000)

Reviewed by Chris

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Spotify

Label Epitaph RecordsDecapolis2000

punk skate punk

After 15 years most bands have either broken up, gone soft, or gotten repetitive, but like fine wine, NOFX only gets better with age. They are one of the few key bands who really formed the melodic punk rock sound we hear so often today, but they don't bask in the glory of their widespread influence, milking it for all it's worth. No, they forge ahead, developing their sound even further, and proving that after all this time, they've still got it.

Over the past year or so we've heard quite a bit from NOFX, what with their fantastic EP, The Decline, along with various compilation appearances, they have given us a good idea of what to expect. I, for one, was not disappointed. From a strictly singer/songwriter point of view, these guys have continuously left me wondering "how in the world did they ever write a song like that?!" The melodies are infectious but unrepetitive. The harmonies are unique and ingenious. The dual guitars leave nothing to be desired. The drums.... Ok the drums are the same as every NOFX album ever put out, but that's part of the charm: they haven't slowed down one bit, and they still pack a punch without sounding stale or contrived.

From the average listener point of view, while there aren't too many sing-along choruses, there's still plenty to get stuck in your head. The album kicks off with an in-joke to the fans.. "Hello, welcome to our CD, can you hear the blatant similarity to Linolium and Shadows of Defeat?", in a nice short one minute song. From then on, it's about 50% really great, serious, hard hitting punk rock with all those wonderful songwriting aspects I was talking about, and 50% goofy stuff like "Clams Have Feelings Too" and "Stranger Than Fishin'."

My personal favorite, musically, is a song called "Total Bummer", which is vaguely about people who sit in front of the tube all day and can't find someone to get with. It has a real nice break into a few lines of "You Light Up My Life." Another favorite (again for music and not for lyrical content) is a song called "Herojuana!", which is pretty much a plea for the right to choose to abuse. Both serious and silly with lyrics like "Are we men, are we children? At what age can we choose how to live?... The only real drug problem is scoring real good drugs." I guess you'd have to hear the song to appreciate it.

Topically the only song really worth it's salt is "Dinosaurs Will Die", about the death of the music industry. They claim to have released it to radio stations hoping they'd play a song about their own demise, but considering it's the last song on a single named after a different track, I dunno about that. Other than that, there's a lot of really silly songs, and some vulgar stuff that's not worth listening to. If you can appreciate a band for phenomenal musical value, even if you don't agree with some (or most) of what is sung about, this album is a must have. If the lyrics are what make the song for you, the record is really only good for people extremely amused by drugs and "big lesbians."