NOFX is a classic pop-punk band that have been around since the late 80's. I think that everyone who enjoys pop-punk or punk music listens or has heard of Nofx. Along with The Offspring, Green Day, Rancid, and The Vandals, Nofx were a huge part of the punk scene in the 90's. I used to love punk music back in the day and I put this in again to give it another listen, it is still great. Throughout all of the great pop-punk albums that were released in the 90's this is one of my favorites.
Raging guitar lines, furious drum beats, and nice basslines is what NOFX is all about. This album is fast, furious, punk music. The guitar is definately a highlight. The guitar lines are furious and loud. They dominate most of the sound and are tough to play. The guitar also does a nice job at sololing on a few tracks, and playing simple riffs. The drum beats are fairly simple, they are quick and basic, nothing special. The bass plays another simple role, there is nothing amazing here, but it is still noticable. All in all I would actually consider this a punk album instead of pop-punk, there arn't a lot of poppy songs and this is a raw album. If you want some of the best 90's punk music than "White Trash..." is the album for you.
Now there are some exceptions to this punk music. There are a few parody tracks, or what other people consider filler tracks. Straight Edge is an El Hefe parady, and while it's vulgur and crude I personally find it quite humorous. The original version of this song was played by a hardcore band, and Nofx turns it into a jammin blues song with an odd vocal delivery and a nice trumpet line. Buggley Eyes is another joke track. It is a very swing influenced song and the music sounds like it is coming from on old 60's movie. While there are a few parody tracks if lightens the mood and keeps things from getting old. While some consider these tracks useless, I beleive that they fit the album and it gives this album a more fun and free-spirited feel.
None of these tracks sound the same. Nofx has a lot of range and they definately show it on here. The ska influenced Bob and Johnny Appleseed are great tracks. Bob features a nice jazzy horn part and Johnny Appleseed is a surf/style song. With 13 tracks on the album about eight of these songs are straight up punk, the others are very experimental and fun. Even though all of these tracks arn't straight up punk, this makes the album a lot of fun and it makes you come back and listen to it again and again. The biggest problem I have with this album is the vocals. The vocals are very whiney and they get on my nerves very easily. It is almost like the lead singer has two cotton balls stuck up his nostrils. It sounds very odd at first along with the rough edge punk music, it takes a while to adjust to it, that's if you can make the adjustment. Out of all the punk bands I have listened to, the vocals hear are problems the most annoying so consider yourself warned. Remember this was released in 1993. This was before El Hefe was trying to be an activepolitician and trying to bash Bush just to be a hipster. I actually really enjoy the lyrics on here. Liza and Louise is a song about two lesbians, it's actually quite humourous. Johnny Appleseed is poking fun at hispanics, sung by El Hefe with a simply hilarious spanish vocal delivery. A lot of these lyrics are very humourous, and they never fail to put a smile on my face. If you want some funny lyrics and some fun punk music than you should give this a shot.
This is truly one of my favorite pop-punk or punk albums of the 90's. This album has a great punk edge and with a huge twist of humor and parody tracks this album is great. With blazing guitar lines and a very raw punk feel this will appeal to fans of punk music. With a few ska tracks and a couple of joke tracks thrown in this album is a lot of fun. The only problem is the vocals, they are very whiny and they just get annoying. If you can't stand whiny vocals than do not come near this. The thing that makes White Trash... such a great album is that it has some fun parody tracks, a few ska songs and it still manages to keep a serious punk edge. If you want some great punk music than pick this up...but I must warn you that the vocals are a true killer.
Overall Rating : 3.5/5
Pros: Great punk music // Fun // No two songs sound the same
Cons: Vocals // Some may not like the parody tracks
Recommended Tracks :Bob // Liza And Louise // Johnny Appleseed
