NOFX - Cokie the clown (EP)

Whether you hate them or love them, there's something you have to agree with: NOFX never cease entertaining their fans. Even if a lot of people accuse them to constantly rip-off 2000's great 'Pump up the valuum' on every new album ever since its release, I personally think they've had different periods, good and less good, and the one they're in right now kind of shows a more personal facet. The 'Backstage passport' Fuse TV episodes and DVD enabled fans to see what was going on in NOFX's world behind the curtain of their humorous and political punk-rock and 'Coaster', released earlier this year, was also a bit more intimate than their previous works. This new EP goes a step further.

The title-track is a fictional first-person-written song about a drug-addicted clown ("That is real blood / Dripping from his fake red nose"). I love guitarist Eric Melvin's vocals and his contribution here is excellent; the fast riffs, bitter tone and catchy lines (despite a lack of chorus) making it an immediate NOFX hit. 'Codependence day' is also about addiction (hey, it's NOFX, don't act surprised) but actually deals with both "merits" and dangers of alcohol. 'Fermented and flailing', despite its title, is more political. As always, Michael Burkett alias Fat Mike's lyrics are cynically yet truthfully depicting America's state without playing the alarmist and depressive card: "And it's a long, long way down / The parachutes are gone so grab a smoke / And it's a long, long free fall / No signs of soft landing, bon, bon voyage". Both tracks are fast whereas 'Straight outta Massachussets' is softer and more upbeat, being a full-band version of a song Fat Mike performed acoustically for a Pancake Mountain session. None of those tracks are amazing and it's rather the acoustic take on 'My orphan year', a track from 'Coaster', that is worth our attention. Probably the most personal song Mike ever wrote, it relates the loss of both his parents in 2006 and his difficult relationship with his father. The 3-minute track is even more touching when he performs it alone with a guitar, stripping it and slowing it down. He says it himself: "For once, I'm sincere / 2006, that was my orphan year". It's nothing cheesy, the 42-year old singer didn't try to make a heartrending ballad with beautiful lyrics, he's singing as out of tune as usual and keeping his traditional outspokenness but rarely has he been able to move his fans like that.

'Cockie the clown' doesn't beat its full-length companion 'Coaster' like 'Never trust a hippy' did to 'Wolves in wolves' clothing'. Those four tracks, recorded during the last album sessions, are quite average in their shape, featuring NOFX's trademark acerbic punk-rock but at the same time serve us a band opening up a little more to their fans. If that's a new perspective for NOFX, it will definitely be refreshing and appreciated.

3.5/5

Recommanded if you like:
Rancid, Lagwagon, Teenage Bottlerocket
Check also:
Uncommonmenfrommars, Frenzal Rhomb, Rehasher

www.myspace.com/nofx
(Fat Wreck Chords, 2009)