![]() In 1994, the music industry – and most musicians – did not expect a bunch of upstarts signed to a small punk label to have a decent stab at taking over the world. It’s a world away from what they’d become, but the grungey balladry of Dirty Magic was an early clue that they were capable of much more. Ignition sparks into life with what sounds like the last confession of a sex addict ( Session), going on to shift nimbly between irresistible introspection ( Kick Him When He’s Down) and grinding missives about police violence that sadly haven’t aged a day ( L.A.P.D.). was early evidence that The Offspring were no-one's puppets.īefore they bowled through MTV and radio playlists around the world for the first time, The Offspring were (not so) quietly establishing themselves as smart, sharp and profane purveyors of melodic punk rock. Making 'Smash 2.0' might have guaranteed a few million more sales, but Ixnay. Me & My Old Lady is a gleefully unclean love song, Cool to Hate toys with the nihilism that comes from feeling like you don’t fit in anywhere or with anyone and the soaring Gone Away isn’t afraid to grieve in public. Smash may have propelled the Garden Grove, California punks into a new reality, but at no point on its follow-up do the quartet sound like they're struggling with - or even aware of - their heightened profile and the additional pressures their new status might attract,Īt various points, The Offspring might sound slower, grimier or snottier than before, but they never sound like they're second-guessing their audience or their art. Sandwiched between the huge success stories released either side of it, Ixnay On The Hombre would be an easy album to forget if it wasn't so damn good. Life, released on the Japanese edition of the album. And fans of bonus tracks could do worse than hunt down the swaggering cover of D.I.’s The O.C. While Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace doesn’t stint on breakneck delivery ( Trust in You, Hammerhead), there’s an ebb and flow to this collection of songs that recalls The Offspring’s best work.Īlongside the sensitively-handled Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?, a song written by Dexter Holland as an apology to a childhood friend who suffered sexual abuse, the band slow things down ( A Lot Like Me) and strip things back ( Fix You) in a manner that won’t be for everyone, but does offer the shock of the new. The title perfectly captures the spirit of what feels like a band taking stock and deciding to shake themselves out of old routines. The horn section thrown into We Never Have Sex Anymore is also proof, were it needed, that Dexter Holland and co. True, it’s highly polished, mid-paced stuff, but this is also the sound of a band growing into middle-age without losing their identity. Recorded amid line-up changes and the small matter of a global pandemic, it’s to their credit that this sounds like a better realised version of its predecessor. ![]() Nine years on from Days Go By, The Offspring re-teamed with Bob Rock for the sparky Let The Bad Times Roll. Out on Patrol and Tehran jangle with the anti-authoritarian energy of their best early tracks, while Crossroads is both impressively unhurried and noisily sure of itself. Though a muddy sound and strangulated riffs mean that this sounds exactly like a band you’d watch support Bad Religion or the Dead Kennedys 30 years ago, dig a little deeper and the potential the quartet would realise later is evident. ![]() The band’s self-titled debut did little to distinguish The Offspring from other West Coast punks at the time, but it’s not without merit. ![]()
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