''Single Album'' is the fourteenth studio album by the American
punk rock band
NOFX
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on eve ...
, released on February 26, 2021.
It is the band's first studio album in nearly five years, since 2016’s ''
First Ditch Effort'', marking the longest gap between two NOFX studio albums; between 2016 and 2021, however, the band did release a series of one-off singles and a split album ''
West Coast vs. Wessex'' (2020), which saw NOFX cover five
Frank Turner songs. The album was originally going to be released as a double album, but the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
prompted the band to release just a single album, hence the title.
Fat Mike has further elaborated that the intended second disc of the album didn't receive positive feedback and thus it was scrapped.
Overview
"Fish in a Gunbarrel" was initially released digitally in 2019, whereas "I Love You More Than I Hate Me" and "Doors and Fours"—along with other songs that did not make the album—were released sporadically throughout 2020 as a reaction to COVID-19-related lockdowns in California.
Three music videos have been released for the album. The video for "I Love You More Than I Hate Me" takes place at a house party where all four band members commit suicide in various ways only to be ignored by the rest of the party. The video features
The Bombpops standing in for NOFX and playing the song. The video for "Doors and Fours" consists mostly of archive footage of the early 1980s L.A. hardcore scene that NOFX originated from. The music video ''Linewleum'' - a sarcastic reinterpretation of "Linoleum" from ''
Punk in Drublic''—features
Avenged Sevenfold playing the song, as well as footage of numerous local bands covering "Linoleum". A second video released shortly after consists solely of footage of more bands covering the song.
Critical reception
''
Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a on ...
''s David McLaughlin scored the release 4/5, stating: "If your mind was made up about NOFX years ago, ''Single Album'' is unlikely to change it, but even if this isn't essential for everyone, it is for the band's troubled leader". Carys Hurcom of ''Wall of Sound'' gave the album an 8/10, writing: "Anyone who refuses to listen to NOFX beyond the late 1990's, will be disappointed—some fans will take a while to adapt to the musical variety while others will appreciate the diversity."
Track listing
Personnel
NOFX
*
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me Fi ...
– lead vocals, bass
*
Eric Melvin
Eric Scott Melvin (born July 9, 1966) is an American musician and founding member of the punk rock band NOFX.
Melvin sings backup vocals on most NOFX songs and wrote the guitar riffs for NOFX songs such as the intro for " Leave It Alone". His v ...
– guitar, background vocals
*
El Hefe
Aaron Abeyta (born August 8, 1965), better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from ''el Jefe'' (Spanish for "the boss"), is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. H ...
– guitar, background vocals
*
Smelly – drums
Additional personnel
* Jason Livermore –
production,
mastering,
mixing,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
*
Bill Stevenson – production, engineering
* Chris Beeble – engineering
* Sergie Loobkoof – artwork
* Jon Weiner – photography
Charts
References
2021 albums
NOFX albums
Fat Wreck Chords albums
Albums produced by Bill Stevenson (musician)
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