Going Off – What Makes You Tick?
Release Date: 24th February 2023
Label: Church Road Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Hardcore Punk
FFO: No Relief, Negative Frame, Last Wishes.
Review By: Ryan Payne
Hardcore punk quintet Going Off are coming out swinging with their latest release “What Makes You Tick?”. The group from Manchester have come leaps and bounds since their formation in 2019, with 2 EPs and a live performance that could give any underground act a run for its money. These boys are here to spew rage and anger, and I am all for it.
The album takes a rawer approach with its production as compared to many other bands in the hardcore scene, but this also gives their music a more primitive edge. Your average song length is about 2 minutes throughout the album, and Going Off manage to hook in the listener every time with their hard driven riffs. Punk isn’t really known for its technicality when it comes to the musicianship side of things, so it’s no surprise that the instrumental work is very minimalistic, but it is also one of the defining attributes to this record, using simple riffs alongside the drums to create a heavy and enjoyable album to listen through. The album features a lot of samples from TV and radio, which can go either way, take back the listener from enjoying the music or build up anticipation for what’s to come. The vocals are a blast to the old punk days, spewing lyrics with attitude and feeling every bit of anger he’s feeling. The pure animosity of the vocalist’s delivery, mixed in with everything else, makes this a great listen for hardcore and punk fans alike.
Going Off are definitely a diamond in the rough, bringing back a classic sound back to the norm and from what I’ve seen on their Facebook page, they have the live show performance to back it up. There is definitely a market out there for fans that want to hear this kind of music, but it’s very dated, and I can’t imagine it’ll break through any time soon, especially when you have bands trying to redefine the genre for a more modern generation. “What Makes You Tick?” is a great listen, and I’ll definitely be jumping at a chance to see them in the near future.
(3 / 5)
