04 10

!!! As If Warp

16.10.15

Nic Offer is an incredible frontman, with arguably the best dance moves in the business, and the musicianship within his band makes a !!! gig a guaranteed great night out.

But in recent years, the Sacramento dance-punk outfit have sometimes struggled to transfer that energy into the studio, and on As If, too many of the songs barely register at all. There are parallels between All U Writers, and the house vibe on Slyd from 2013 ́s THR!!!ER album. However, where Slyd slapped you in the face and triggered an immediate physical reaction, All U Writers never takes off. By the same token, Every Little Bit Counts appears to flirt with the disco style which worked so nicely on 2013 summer hit, One Girl/One Boy, but the songwriting just doesn’t hold up.

Latest single Freedom ́15 sums up the issue with As If. The song starts off well enough, but falls down with a passé synth riff for the drop at the chorus, and then the song fades out when it ́s really just getting started. Sick Ass Moon and Funk (I Got This) hint at the sort of off-kilter dance record !!! probably should be making right now, but it feels like the success of their previous, most accessible album has confused things here.