Off the Record
Long Beach, CA8 reviews across 3 releases
Off the Record was a five-piece Southern California punk band formed in 1997, with Keith Allen handling the vocals. Its basic approach was fast new-school punk sharpened by heavy-metal guitar: artificial harmonics, pick slides and quick solos were prominent from the opening of Remember When, while occasional hardcore screams added weight. The 2000 debut also carried the brisk, melodic drive associated with skate punk, though several reviewers found the songs repetitive or the vocals too loud and uneven. Mulligan kept the metal-influenced riffs while exposing the limits of the singing and songwriting, dividing reviewers between admiration for the musicianship and disappointment with the vocals. Nothing New retained the same fast kick-drum pulse in a shorter format, with catchier melodies and slightly broader lyrical ideas.
In 2002, Off the Record left Tooth & Nail for New School Records, which issued Mulligan and later Nothing New. The latter was produced by Ryan Greene and included a computer video containing live footage, a band history narrated by Allen, and a video for "The Death of Me." No documented lineup overhaul appears in the available history; the core group remained associated with Allen, guitarists Ryan Schueller and Dan Atkinson, bassist Chris Ozorio, and drummer Danny Hidalgo. After the 2004 EP, the band's public trail largely disappears.
3 releases reviewed
Mulligan
Nothing New