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OFF! to debut feature film 'Free LSD' at Slamdance Film Festival
OFF! to debut feature film 'Free LSD' at Slamdance Film Festival
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Wednesday, December 7, 2022 - 10:42
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Thomas

Earlier this year OFF!, the hardcore supergroup helmed by Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, ex-Black Flag) and Dimitri Coats (ex-Burning Brides), released Free LSD, their first new full-length in eight years. The album was composed parallel to the writing of a feature film of the same name, which will make its debut as the closing selection at the 29th Slamdance Film Festival, being held from January 20th to 26th, 2023 with events in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. A punk rock, sci-fi midnight movie, Free LSD follows the protagonist (played by Keith Morris) on an inter-dimensional journey where, after using an experimental drug to cure a personal problem, he is provided a glimpse into a parallel universe where he is not only the singer of the band OFF!, but also the target of an evil alien species that will stop at nothing to prevent the group from making a new album which holds the key to an awakening of human consciousness. The film, written and directed by OFF!’s Dimitri Coats, features performances by Jack Black, David Yow (Jesus Lizard), Davey Havok (AFI), Chloe Dykstra, Don Bolles (Germs), Chelsea Debo, Dana Gould, Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks), the recently departed D.H. Peligro (Dead Kennedys), and more.

Approaching the album and film in parallel encouraged Morris and Coats to elevate their incendiary sound, bolstered by the recent lineup additions of drummer Justin Brown (Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Herbie Hancock) and bassist Autry Fulbright II (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), into a new sonic dimension. Coats explains,“Since thinking of the album as a soundtrack to a weird sci-fi movie gave us permission to experiment, and the film explains, in a fantastical way, the creation of the album, they both go hand in hand as an overall art project.” The album release was preceded by videos for the songs “War Above Los Angeles” and “Kill To Be Heard,” both of which were comprised of footage from the forthcoming film, serving to delineate both the controlled chaos of the album’s frenzied sound and give a hint at what’s to come.

You can watch the videos for 'War Above Los Angeles' and 'Kill To Be Heard', featuring footage from the film, below.