Like relapsing at an airport bar just after landing in Delaware, Ian Fidance‘s feature on the Going Off song “Bound By Blood” is something to behold… maybe even something to aspire to in our age of post-Ramones mock brotherhood.
Both artists clock in a shared dark sincerity on this track, adding a distorted Helter Skelter shoot ‘um up Paul McCartney even might nod along to.
Take a listen below:
Despite barely being a minute long, “Bound By Blood” carries a dank, moonless, disgustingly hair-raising riff throughout its 60 seconds, from the going going gone drums, thumping bass, to impressive and monstrous vocals. Best of all, there’s poetry in ‘dem bleeding paternal hills.
Though our blood and name
May be the same
You will never be
A part of this family
Members Alex East, Ben Collinson, Jake Huxley, Nate Worrall, and Nick Wan, as the kids say today, are absolutely cooking some delicious hardcore here…. and where lyrics from this genre are usually squealed or contorted at times, often hiding behind inflection style instead of lyrical substance, Fidance’s “Never stepped up when we needed you the most… haunting memories of you linger like a ghost” has a Sid Vicious, maybe, try-hard Simon Ferocious, side sauce brevity. The difference between the recovered comedian and late punk junkie icon being Fidance’s continuing failure to be inauthentic, and while Fidance doesn’t have the vocal range of the late singer, that heart on his sleeve quality he has is a reason why Queen fans loved Freddie Mercury.
The combo of comedian and “fuck you let’s smash skulls” sound is not only fun but refreshing. From a distance, this Manchester band stand out for their music, the guitar tone at the front lines of my favoritism, but the mangled chop of the strings paired with these scary ass neighbor’s dog vocals is a lotta fun to hear. The mixing on the entire album is terrific too.
Going Off do with a minute what few bands could do with 5: make a great song you actually want to hear again. It kinda has that Adult Swim late night Dethklok vibe, but in a sincere non-mocking way that makes relistening enjoyable. And for anyone who has felt like the black sheep of their family, or mistreated by a close group of peers, it will hit home for the message alone.
The Ramones were known for making short form songs into long term classics, and while this new track from Going Off is admirable, Fidance adds a certain flavor to the band’s bloodbath with his seasoned Screech-rasp sitcom character septicemia. I welcome an entire combined EP of songs from these two artists… and I push for a Willie the Pimp cover immediately.
With all the blood they spill here, these fuckers deserve to see listeners drip from their ears while smiling (and skanking) all the way to the bank. “Bound By Blood” is of the best audial-caffeinated bangers I have heard so far this year. After all, my only gripe is that there isn’t more of them together (yet).
For more Ian, check out his latest stand up special, Wild Happy & Free.
For more Going Off, take a listen to their entire album Die Fast on Bandcamp.
