So Long & Thanks for All the Shoes
finds
NOFX
sliding away from their strengths and turning out a nearly undistinguished collection of rote, by-the-books latter-day
punk
. Part of the problem is the flat, processed sound of the album, which simply fails to capture the group's fiery, energetic stage presence. That alone would make
So Long
a disappointment, but the songs themselves are below par, riding on tired riffs and half-baked lyrics, which tend to be buried in the mix anyway. The result is the stiffest album the group has yet released, and it raises the disturbing question of whether
has run out of ideas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine