NOFX

***Over the past few years, NOFX have unleashed their very first double album in the form of 2021’s Single Album; followed by Double Album a year later. What fans didn’t know, is that wasn’t all there was to this masterpiece. That’s right, NOFX’s first and only double album has a 5th side! Half Album is the final chapter to NOFX’s epic double album. The songs that comprise this EP—as well as it’s two predecessors, were all recorded at the same time. Half Album is not simply the leftover songs from this session, but rather an integral part that ties the entire project together. Album opener “Fake-A-Wish Foundation” is a follow-up to Single Album’s “My Bro Cancervive Cancer,” about a guy called Brett who pretended to have brain cancer to hang with bands and get free merch. It’s a gorgeous lilting ballad that might sound sad but contains some truly comedic and biting lyrics. Then there’s “I’m a Rat”—written by FAT MIKE but first recorded by Japanese punk band HI-STANDARD, and later included on last year’s Fat Mike’s string album Gets Strung Out. “The Queen is Dead” comes next, which first appeared (in a very different form) on COKIE THE CLOWN's 2019 full-length You’re Welcome. This reweorked punked-up version—along with the trilogy of “I’m a Rat” showcase how a well written song can be played in any genre. Album closer “The Last Drag,” which is the the counterpart to Single Album opener “The Big Drag,” brings the whole 25-track double album full circle. The song took Fat Mike five years to finish and reveals the profound depth of his songwriting. Half Album isn’t the last record they will release, but it is the beginning of the end of NOFX as we know them. It’s also proof, despite its title, that NOFX doesn’t do things by halves. This might be called Half Album, but it’s part of a much bigger legacy and an even greater whole.