After their mom died last summer, brothers Noah and Sam George escaped into music.

Led by Noah’s adhesive howl and Sam’s punchy bass, their band 53 Judges has been an Alabama act to watch since they were teenagers. Their 2016 debut EP “Fade” boasted slinky stomp “The Wrench.” They followed that up in ‘18 with a self-titled EP featuring magnetic rattler “Mountain Shakedown,” then in 2022 with third EP “Pay To Play,” stocked with standouts like “Love Flies” and “Waves.”

Love the’90s alt-rock of Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots? 53 Judges are descended from that tuneful clang. Onstage, the band’s always brought it too. Real-deal rock and roll played razor-sharp and full tilt without fame-thirsty pandering to Instagram-era trends.

But after their mom, Lisa George, passed, Noah says, “Life put us in a place I didn’t think my mind could go. I needed an out, something to put my feelings into. It came from a really weird spot, but it made for some amazing music and writing styles. I think it really pushed us to the edge of what we can do.”

Lisa George was 58 years old when she died of complications from an aorta dissection she had 10 years earlier. She loved the music of Elton John and Elvis Presley. A Massachusetts native, her first concert ever was Aerosmith. “She said it was an amazing show, but her purse got stolen,” Sam recalls with a sweet laugh. “She loved telling that story.”

Lisa was also a caretaker who dedicated her life to helping elderly people who could no long properly care for themselves. “She was always an extremely happy person and full of light,” Sam says.

The loss of their mom brought the George brothers closer to their bandmates, guitarist Chad Carter and drummer Josh Wright.

“Our band really became brothers,” Noah says, “because Josh and Chad were there for me and Sam and my dad and we all got really tight. It shows people’s colors, who’s there for you. I’ve got so much appreciation for these guys.”

Sam, age 25, adds, “The musical ability has always been there, but when this happened, the way we’re going about our practices and writing changed.”

It was time for another change, too. 53 Judges were always a good band with a less than good name. They’d come up with that moniker on a buzzed whim back when they were a green garage band.

“The name really never had a set meaning,” Sam says, “and it was made in a time where our mindset was completely different, back when we were 15 or however old we were. So it only felt right to come up with a name more representative of us now.”

On New Year’s Day this year, they unsheathed their new band name, Offchain. “Now,” Sam says, “I feel like the name itself kind of resembles what you get live — it’s, like off the chain, an extension of a lot of different vibrations going on at one time people are able to see and feel.”

The band also released a new single, “The Plot.” Opening with corrosive propulsion, the tune shifts into skyline counterpoint with Noah exploring his falsetto. The chorus flames into anthemic release.

“The Plot” grew from the seeds of a Carter guitar riff. His Slash-y wah-wah work towards the end of the track adds storm to the stew.

Noah, age 27, says, “A lot of energy was going into the song.” Lyrically, the song’s about, “having your trust and everything into somebody, and them just walking away.”

Since its release, a TikTok post of “The Plot” has received nearly 80,000 likes. The track’s also now on Spotify, and Offchain has reshared the songs from their final EP as 53 Judges, “Pay To Play,” on that streaming service, collected as “The Golden Age” EP. You can follow the band on Facebook for updates and more info.

In making their earlier recordings, they worked with the likes of former Verbena musician Les Nuby. But for their new tracks as Offchain, the band recorded themselves at home — “in our closet,” Noah jokes — using the recording software Reaper. Sonically, it sounds like the band cut at a sophisticated recording studio: Warm as blood yet crystal clear. The results were mixed by Benedikt Hain of Outback Recordings in Germany.

In addition to “The Plot,” Offchain have three more new songs in the can. “Screwdriver” is a soul-grunge gem with an intro revealing Noah’s affinity for vintage blues and Muscle Shoals R&B. Winkingly titled “Mourning Would” melds Guns N’ Roses fangs with Weezer-style pop-rock. Sam calls Wright’s drumming on this track “so next level.”

The poignant “Mother May I” opens with arpeggiated ache before bursting big, as Noah’s vocals shred larynx and soul. The lyrics are about Lisa George.

“I just wanted that song to give my mother the love she deserved, kind of her last hurrah,” Noah says. “She was our biggest supporter, so it was an honor to write that song for her and kind of keep her image alive, what she wanted for us.”

Understandably, “Mother May I” was emotional difficult to record. “Playing it live,” Sam says, “sometimes before we even get to the first chorus your mind is racing, your emotions are going. But we get through it, and we’ve done some of our best performances recently with that one.”

Offchain is already working on four more new cuts. They plan to release all eight songs individually as singles first before collecting them on an album, which will likely be self-titled.

In the streaming era, Sam feels such a strategy, “gives the specific songs a chance to breathe and gain some traction, so some of them don’t get lost in transition.”

Offchain is laying off gigs until their complete these recordings. In the past, they’ve performed at venues ranging from local rock clubs to the grounds of Huntsville’s Orion Amphitheater.

That Orion show wasn’t inside the 8,000-capacity amphitheater. But Offchain leans into writing music meant for large audiences. “Sometimes bands like us are writing songs for commercials,” Noah says. “But we’re still writing songs for people.”

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