My War Goes To College

I can't count the number of times I've caught some blog pushing a record as being a long-lost overlooked gem from way back when it's really just some 3rd-generation fourth-rate punk rock slop that everybody laughed at when it first came out 15, 20 years ago, only today these kids with the blogs don't have any fucking ears.

Well, that won't be the case this time, my friend. What you've got here is some heavy, heavy riffage (sez so right on the back cover), and if there's a reason why so many people skipped over Ff's "We're #1" when it first came out, besides the ugly-as-all-hell cover art-- and the CD before this one was called "Lady Shoe", so there's definitely room for improvement in that department-- I couldn't tell you. This received near-unanimous raves from the few fanzines that reviewed it back in '96, and with good reason. This thing's wall-to-wall with stacks upon stacks of high-quality Black Flag-style overdrive, with a heavy-duty chunk of the Descendents thrown in also (not like the Descendents couldn't cop a good Black Flag riff now and then).

Ff doesn't floor it all the way through, though, flashing some range with a song like "Life Would Be Sweet", which is almost rockabilly, or a slight reminder of "It's All Over Now" by the Stones-- same difference. The piano tinkling leading off "Sister Barbara" (just before the thunderous guitars come crashing in) is kinda funny also, and I'll own up to "Collide" being one of my favorite songs on here, even though the band themselves call it "as gay as it gets."

I read in an interview once where the band, joking around, said that Ff stands for "Fucking Fat", so there's your little tidbit for the day.




Ff -

"Retreat Again"

"S.A.B.P.U."

"Independence Day"

"Collide"

"Sister Barbara"

"I'm Off Again"

"Life Would Be Sweet"

(these files are now listen-only)