Song Premiere: OFF!, ‘Cracked’

Listen to a new track from the punk band's upcoming debut LP

By Rolling Stone | Exclusive Stream, New Music April 24, 2012

Off! (Photo: Aaron Farley)

When the Circle Jerks’ reunion didn’t quite work out, singer Keith Morris and producer Dimitri Coats defected from the hardcore band to form OFF!, releasing their First Four EPs as a complete set in 2010. On the group’s new song, “Cracked,” premiering exclusively today on RollingStone.com, singer Keith Morris addresses the resurgence of yet another seminal punk rock band.

“Basically, what this song is about is a guy going back to rehearse with some of his old friends and it not turning out the way he thought it was supposed to be,” Morris tells Rolling Stone, alluding to an attempted Black Flag reunion in 2003.

“The situation was very, very disappointing,” Morris says. “Not only was it disappointing and depressing and pathetic, but it was also…I had to search for some humor in it, just to keep from being totally broken in two.”

Morris, who co-founded Black Flag with Greg Ginn, ended up not performing in their reunion show and vents his frustrations about it on “Cracked.” A barrage of power chords and cymbals crash into Morris’ signature scream, as he rants about a “hardcore karaoke retirement home,” among other indignities and perceived slights. In typical OFF! fashion, the entire song is less than one minute long.

”We could have gone into more details, but our songs aren’t that long. Our verses aren’t that long, our choruses aren’t that long. We don’t get to spend a lot of time getting into deep details,” says Morris. “The story itself is actually pretty funny. I’m writing a book and it’s one of the chapters in the book.”

Morris says there’s no timeline for the book’s release yet, but he’ll give his full take on the reunion in addition to documenting his time as lead singer of the Circle Jerks and his stint as an A&R man for V2 Records. In the meantime, OFF’s self-titled debut full-length is due out May 8th from Vice Records, and the band will tour with reunited Swedish punks Refused in July.