Hey, Jack! You're Late!

Judging by the pic on the inside cover, Onoff’s three members have a combined age barely old enough to buy cider. Well, maybe I exaggerate, but if you thought jailbait signings were for pop starlets only, you were mistaken. These Dublin punk dudes are, like, totally young.

And while their paucity of years may occasionally be reflected in the lyrical themes of Hey, Jack! You’re Late!’ – girls, drink and lots and lots of arse – the album has moments of inspired noisemaking and compelling melody that hoarier headbangers would give limbs for.

The opener (not counting the silly death-metal intro), ‘Break Away,’ is representative: a snappy skatey number with a catchy chorus, reminiscent of Green Day or a less polished Blink-182.

There’s lots more in the way of happy, melodic pop punk tunes: ‘Bumstown Rd.’ and ‘Making Out’ are full of cheery distortion and beery contempt, and while ‘Some Fucked Up Guy’ isn’t the best song on the record, its use of saxophone as a lead instrument is pretty damn original in this context.

There are two good minor-key songs too, ‘Our Break Up Time’ and ‘Boarded Up,’ but to the great credit of Paul, Gary and Steve, they have opted not to include the token, we’re-really-sensitive-guys-behind-the-cussing ballad which condemns the majority of modern pop-punk albums to dittoville.

Hey, Jack! is not without its low points. ‘Peter Fyle,’ as well as using a weak pun, lacks the melodic sense that boosts the album’s best moments, as do ‘Trendy’ and ‘52’.

Onoff have been doing big business on the all-ages circuit, including a performance with the Revs at Blast Fest, Tramore. Anyone who has seen them live and been impressed will not be disappointed with Hey, Jack! One to watch, but be warned: they move powerful fast.