ONOFFON

Surrender Now - Mixed Reviews

You'll notice that even though these reviewers are slammin'
us, they still seem to have something nice to say anyway!

Keith Marshall from Eleusis Progressive Rock Pages (U.K.) :

ONOFFON
Surrender Now (3 out of 5)

"ONOFFON are essentially a three-piece, bass, drums and guitar, with the guitarist handling the vocals and the bass player doubling up on keyboards, based in California. This CD is an entirely independent release by the band, and has good sound quality as well as showing a diverse range of styles, mostly blues and jazz-influenced, although the overall combination is at least as well suited to the progressive stage as anywhere else. Since each track exhibits a slightly different style from the previous, it's actually quite difficult to review, and the album perhaps lacks a little coherency. The overall feel, if there is one, brings to mind a rather unholy combination of Sting and Jeff Healey, with a definite laid-back West Coast feel built in. It's a bit too blues-influenced for me, as a whole - as with Cream I could never quite get to grips with the really deep blues stuff, yet I liked a lot of their material - it's a similar case here. Your Reality is a case in point - it is very definitely a blues song, with overblown blues vocals and a repetitive lyric to match, but it has a darker edge and an unusual arrangement which make it a bit more interesting to me. The title track, however, is much more jazzy and harder to pin down. Inside My Soul is a soft, simple ballad, with the emphasis on an electric piano riff - probably the least progressive track here, but not too much out of place. Please Baby Please wouldn't be too far out of place on a John Lee Hooker album! Letter Received is similarly blues-inspired, really not my kind of thing at all. The two longer tracks at the end both start off with 4 or 5 minutes of noodling, before building into proper songs - the former is a quiet guitar ballad which is quite nice, while the latter is more discordant, atmospheric and original, building into something the Ozric Tentacles might have turned out, then becoming more progressive. The tracks I haven't mentioned yet are probably the best - The Gift Must Always Move is a nice instrumental jazz improvisation, very subtle and quiet but always moving forward, building nicely at the end with some very understated lead guitar, again in a Steve Hillage/Ozric Tentacles style. Rock Garden is the one track which melds most of their styles into a progressive whole, although the chorus is a little weak, perhaps. In summary, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this album. The musicians are undoubtedly talented, and some of the songs are really good, but I have a very low tolerance for blues I'm afraid, so the Jeff Healey-style vocals really put me off certain tracks. When they get away from that they have a nice, gentle, jazz-inspired progressive style which could really develop into something given time. The Hillage/Ozrics style is yet another string to their bow, which might bear some development."

Nathan Levi of Geekstar (CO, U.S.A.):

ONOFFON
Surrender Now

"Well, well, well. I get to do two reviews this month!! One on a good CD and one on ONOFFON's new release called "Surrender Now." No please, don't hurt me, I surrender. Haven't heard of this band? I haven't either. From reading the information on the CD cover, they're from California. So, that shows that Geekstar is getting some attention outside of Colorado Springs and I'd like to thank the band for thinking of us. But, to be honest, I think a contemporary blues magazine or even a classic rock mag would be a better place to get this disc reviewed. One thing I have to hand to these guys is that they have incredible talent. They're awesome on the guitars and seem to be musically ambidextrous with all of the other sounds like the keyboard and harmonica, not to mention the sax which is becoming rare in today's music. The guys' voices are also superb but the female backup vocals could use some work. They should sound a little more integrated into the lead vocals and complement the lead vocals, not compete with them. I feel like Craig Kilborn of the Daily Show, "It's time for 3 Questions." 1. What's my favorite song? Well, that's a tough question since I didn't really like any of them but I'd have to say that "Please Baby Please" is my fav. I think I heard it in a movie or something. Yeah, I think I did. The scene involved a chocolate lab, a rainy day in New York, a small cafe, hot coffee, and some scrambled eggs after a night of drinking and a new found love for an ex-girlfriend after a fight. Go figure. "Please Baby Please" has some cool knee slapping sounds and simple yet cool acoustic guitar riffs. It makes you wanna shake your head from side to side. 2. What does the CD sound like? Hell, I really don't know. This CD seems to deal with odd topics like codependency and other mid-life crisis topics. I don't usually listen to the "lite rock" or "easy listening" genre of music so I don't really have a basis for comparison. My dad who is 41 liked it though and overall he has surprisingly good taste in music. 3. Does the CD sound like a local recording? Well, I'm not up on the local status of this band but I'm assuming they are local otherwise they wouldn't have sent the CD to us. The recording sounds great. You'd never know it was local. The guys obviously spent time making sure everything was perfect before it was put on CD. I've actually been impressed with the sound quality on all of the local CD's I've heard. It must take work making everything sound good especially on what I'm assuming to be slightly inferior equipment. Let's face it, local studios aren't gonna be as nice as say Sony or something. Well, ONOFFON's CD "Surrender Now" isn't the best CD I've ever heard but it's certainly not the worst. As I'm sure you've all guessed, I'm not a huge fan of this genre of music and you can see that I don't know too much about it by reading this mediocre review. But please, don't let this dissuade you from at least listening to this CD. The guys of ONOFFON: Don Lake, Von Babasin, and Dave Goode, have talent and definitely deserve at least five minutes of your time. There's no information on the CD about how to contact the band so your best bet would be to get in touch with Craig Decker and he'll hook you up with what you need to know. ONOFFON's "Surrender Now" makes me want to keep fighting and hear the next one before I surrender."

Dave Magnuson of The Indie Zone (NH, U.S.A.):

ONOFFON
Surrender Now

"One thing is for sure about ONOFFON... The music style is definitely hard to classify. This trio combines to create a jazzy, funky, jam band. With the help of several supporting musicians, Don Lake,Von Babasin and Dave Goode have compiled a collection of intricate and diverse songs. I particularly enjoyed some of the really soulful harmonica and sax sections that really compliment the sound of the band. Songs range in style from jazzy lounge songs to rock ballads, to a smooth shuffle or wild groove. My main complaint with this album is the length of some of the songs. Although well written, some of jams become a little long winded. The album clocks in at just under 70 minutes for 11 tracks, so you can imagine how long some of the cuts are. If you're ever in the Studio City California area, be sure to look up ONOFFON, this very talented and professional sounding band will most definitely put on a good show."

Jimmy Possession of Robots & Electronic Brains (U.K.):

ONOFFON
Surrender Now

"Progressive jazz from LA by a trio of self-confessed musos is not the kind of description that'd get me reaching for my wallet...but seeing as we're here, let's have a look at what's on offer, eh? Eleven tracks of which only 3 stretch out into jams, the rest spreading themselves across funk, jazz and rock in a mildly Zappa-esque manner. In fact, this disc reminds me of an LP from a couple of years ago by Zappa's sons under the name AZ/DZ. With that album it shares this criticism: no doubt great live, but not quite wierd enough for extended listening in the home...or, at least, in my home."

Chris of 100% Independent (MN, U.S.A.):

ONOFFON
Surrender Now

Rating: 5/10

"Biased Review Alert!!! I hate jazz. I hate jazz rock fusion even worse. All it does is wear down the nice rough edges of rock. ONOFFON, while eminently skilled, play this mellow jazz rock that just grates me to no end. I'm going to stop here, because its in poor taste for me to bash a band who I just don't appreciate. Your mileage may vary. People with a taste for this will probably go hog wild over ONOFFON."

Waldo the Squid of DRUM! Mag. (on Dave Goode and ONOFFON):

"Let's say right up front that Goode is an accomplished drummer who has plenty to crow about. He grooves hard in a variety of styles and time signatures, exercises restraint when it's called for, and unleases positively resplendent chops. But judging by Surrender Now, the CD by his Southern California prog-rock trio ONOFFON, it's hard to tell where these chaps are coming from. All three band members play with a fusion slickness, which works just fine until the vocals come in. What follows is inexplicable. The melodies drone through embarrassing lyrics like, "Baby done show me, I's co-dependent" or worse, "If a thief were I - of your pain." Oh gosh. It's just wrong. The two instrumental tracks on Surrender Now - 'Weekend in Montreal' and 'The Gift Must Always Move' - are so much more convincing than the other nine songs that the Squid can only advise these fellows to drop the lyrical pretentions and play some straight jazz gigs."

ONOFFON Main Page

ONOFFON Acquisition Page