Los Angeles quartet OFF!, led by vocalist and hardcore legend Keith Morris, released their first new music in 8 years today, with the insanely chaotic music video for "War Above Los Angeles," from their long-awaited fourth LP, Free LSD, arriving September 30 from Fat Possum Records. You can watch the video above.
The clip was written and directed by guitarist Dmitri Coats, the new song providing the soundtrack for a noir-injected, paranoid fiction short that features cameos from pro-skateboarder Don Nguyen and The Jesus Lizard vocalist David Yow. Yow played a righteous preacher in OFF!'s last video which they made for their cover of Metallica's "Holier Than Thou" that was featured on the Blacklisted compilation in 2021.
It was reported previously that Free LSD will have an accompanying film also written & directed by Coats, and a release date has now been slated for sometime in 2023. An IMDB entry has the following listed as a plot summary:
"Free LSD is a rock 'n' roll sci-fi comedy about an LA punk band and the unexpected journey that brings them together across alternate dimensions to create the album, Free LSD."
"War Above Los Angeles" is the band's first new music since they released the Wasted Years LP in 2014, and it incorporates elements of doom, crossover thrash, and traditional hardcore to assail minds and ears. Morris violently loops like a mixture of free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman with an air raid, and the end result a warning that "The hour of reckoning is here!" In other words: Lookout motherfuckers: OFF! have returned.
About Free LSD, Morris has said, "After making music for as long as I have, it was time to use a palette that includes lime green, turquoise, and magenta instead of the typical colors and shades that were involved in all of the other breakneck and car chase scenarios. Miles Davis with Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters as opposed to Milo Goes to College."
A pre-order/pre-save is available for Free LSD here. The album will be available on LP, CD, cassette, and DSP everywhere. Both vinyl editions—a standard translucent electric blue disc and a limited-edition dusty pink disc—are available from the band via Bandcamp and both come with a blotter lyric sheet, as seen in the video when Nguyen drops a tab. The dusty pink vinyl is limited to 350 copies and is signed by the band.
OFF! currently consist of Morris, Coats, bassist Autry Fulbright II (…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead), and drummer Justin Brown. OFF! will be hitting the road is support of Free LSD in October, and you can find those dates below. For the most up-to-date information on OFF!, you can visit their website.
10/24 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
10/25 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole
10/26 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf
10/28 – Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co.
10/29 – Austin, TX – Levitation Festival
10/31 – Memphis, TN – Black Lodge Video
11/1 – Nashville, TN – Basement East
11/2 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
11/4 – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall
11/5 – Washington, DC – Union Stage
11/6 – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
11/10 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
11/11 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
11/12 – Montreal, QC – Cafe Campus
11/13 – Toronto, ON – Lee's Palace
11/16 – Detroit, MI – Third Man Records
11/17 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
11/18 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
12/8 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
12/9 – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
12/10 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
12/12 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
12/13 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw
12/14 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
12/16 – San Francisco, CA – Independent
12/17 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
