So Long & Thanks for All the Shoes

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 NOFX has run out of ideas.