Despite popular perception, !!! never quite fit with the dance-punk explosion of the early-to-mid-'00s. While an endless procession of angular Gang of Four imitators came and went, !!! carved out a space for themselves as disco true believers, foregoing the calculated dourness of the '80s for the joyous excesses of the decade prior. Few of their peers were releasing epic singles that stretched for almost 10 minutes (2003's now-classic "Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)"), or essentially trolling fans with something as simple as their name ("It's pronounced 'Chk chk chk'," "Actually, it's any three monosyllabic sounds in rapid succession," etc.). And no other group had a frontman as gleefully irreverent as Nic Offer, who is not opposed to busting out a dutty whine onstage in board shorts and a midriff-baring T-shirt. Making the uncool cool became second nature for !!!, yet another quality that separated them from the pack.
But !!! have repeatedly suffered from bad timing—they're unable to distance themselves from that one, fairly brief moment midway through their career where they found themselves part of something bigger, and that lens distorts the way their music in received. As If, !!!'s sixth studio album, is very much a reaction to that crisis of identity, a mostly successful attempt at re-establishing themselves as the premier suppliers of fun, kinetic, sprawling indie disco.
!!!'s secret weapon has always been their sense of humor—from their beginnings in the late '90s, when Offer basically had the wardrobe of an off-duty American Gladiator, to the tongue-in-cheek career highlight "Pardon My Freedom" from their politically-charged second LP Louden Up Now, whose chorus of "Like I give a fuck about that motherfuckin' shit" serves as a mini manifesto for !!!'s entire ethos.
There's nothing quite as special as "Pardon My Freedom" on As If, but opening track "All U Writers" delivers the album's first chuckle amidst it's pounding dance beat: "I knew I shouldn't have kissed him in a Chevrolet," sings a plaintive female voice, as Offer's distorted and stuttering vocals provide the song's structure. There's immediately a sense that !!! aren't necessarily trying to recreate past greatness but are pushing their sound and style in a new direction. The clearest example of this—and subsequently the best, if strangest, track on the album—is "Every Little Bit Counts", a straightforward rock-pop party song that would fit snugly on a Haircut 100 record circa 1983. The track has a big, broad, singalong chorus, a fist-pumping drumbeat and Orange Juice-like jumpy guitars, and it's unlike anything !!! have put forth up to date. "Freedom! '15" serves as a spiritual sequel of sorts to Louden Up Now: "Freedom!/ How's that working for you, baby?" sings Offer and his band of sarcastic backing singers, condensing the last decade of American political apathy into six minutes of funk.
Speaking of which, As *If * leans a little too heavily on the groove in the middle, with moments like "Funk (I Got This)" fading into the background, but it's reinvigorated towards the end by the riveting "Lucy Mongoosey", which uses another singalong chorus as an anchor, an introspective pause among all the dancing. The final track, "I Feel So Free (Citation Needed)", features Offer's slowed-down, slurred vocals narrating the construction of the song itself: “It's quiet around here without a kick drum” he states, before said drum comes into the mix and transforms it into a heady, weirdo, funny, controlled mess, much like !!! themselves. With a little luck, As If will be the turning point !!! are looking for, the beginning of a new path without the dance-punk baggage they've been toting around for the last decade.
