Still a Malcontent

Coats is nearly 15 years Morris' junior and calls him his "best friend." Though he comes from an East Coast alt-rock background, it was Coats' zeal and clarity of vision that put Morris into a "time machine that took me back to the basement of the Church," Black Flag's original rehearsal space in Hermosa Beach.

"[Coats] was in my living room jamming away, and I said, 'What you're playing right there, this is what we're supposed to be doing,' " Morris recalls. Though they reject the label, they're clearly inspired by classic American punk; their debut album delivers deftly executed hardcore while hinting at a nuanced collective personality taking shape. Opener "Wiped Out" could be heyday Dickies, with Morris' adolescent speak-shout punctuating studiously garage-y guitar progressions, but then "King Kong Brigade" lets things (relatively) decelerate, with its undulating dynamics and atmospheric outro.

PHOTO BY AARON FARLEY

Off!

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"I come more from a metal background, so I try to pull in some of the dark stuff," Coats explains. "And [Morris] wants it to be more of a party."

They're hitting the road with a reunited Refused in July, and between Off!'s short tours and occasional rehearsal and recording sessions, Morris' bandmates return to their families. He wanders back to his rented, memorabilia-stuffed Los Feliz apartment; he speaks of selling his collection of albums and autographs and moving abroad, perhaps to Berlin.

Having been called a legend by any number of publications and websites, he's not sure what to make of it all.

"I don't shine that kind of light on myself," he mulls. "Being a legend, with a pocketful of change, might not get you a bus ride or a cup of coffee."