One of my first non-metal reviews was The Offspring and since that time they have put out a new album (back in 2024). Well I figured this was a good time to give them a Rewind Review to see if anything has changed. Let’s take a look….
The Offspring- the thing I forgot about this album is that the production does sound a bit on the raw side, but vocally Dexter pretty much sounds the same now as he did when this album came out. I think that’s pretty awesome. Fun fact, the songs “Kill The President” was met with a lot of controversy and conservative radio host Wally George destroyed a copy of the album on his show.
Previous Score: 6/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Out On Patrol, Beheaded, Blackball
Ignition- I feel like this is one of those albums that you can hear the progression. I also feel like this is one of those albums where they’re about to break. Well, I do think it’s a good album, it just doesn’t have a lot of memorable songs, and to be honest I sort of wish they would play more off of this live.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Kick Him When He’s Down, Hypodermic, LAPD
Smash- ah yes this is it. The one to finally break them and this is where we start to get radio hits. I mean the three singles still to this day get played. One has to remember that when this came out, it was during the time when pop punk bands like Green Day were big plus you had ska punk bands like Rancid as well as all those grunge bands still making music. Definitely a classic and for good reason.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Nitro (Youth Energy), Genocide, So Alone
Ixnay On The Hombre- so what do you do after you make a classic album?? You follow it up with another. This is another one of those quintessential Offspring albums which again has a bunch of their radio friendly singles. This is also one of those albums that when you listen to it and Smash, it just feels like the perfect back to back. When it came to the recording process of the album, guitarist Noodles has been quoted as saying “We recorded a few more songs than we needed, and if we had used some of the other ones that were left off, it would have ended up a little more risky. But we’re not disappointed in what we kept. I think it’s a great record and I love these songs. Maybe we’ll save the limb-walking for the next one.”
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Mota, The Meaning Of Life, Cool To Hate
Americana- listening to this again and actually paying attention to the lyrics, you realize that this is a darker album. It’s sort of a commentary of what’s going on in the world. Frontman Dexter Holland had this to say about the album The songs on Americana aren’t condemnations, they’re short stories about the state of things and what we see going on around us. We want to expose the darker side of our culture. It may look like an episode of Happy Days out there in America, but it feels more like Twin Peaks.” He detailed that Americana was not thought right away as a concept album and “this really cool social statement”, though once the band recorded a few songs complaining about 1998 America, “then we realized we had a theme.” However you want to look at it, this is another classic album from this band.
Previous Score: 9.5/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: The End Of The Line, Feelings, Walla Walla
Conspiracy Of One: this is one of those albums I really wanted to like more but overall, this one has some hits and misses. Fun fact, this was originally going to be sold via their online shop before retail however, their label Columbia Records threatened to sue so it was then released in physical form. Again, this one is good but just misses the mark slightly.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: Dammit I Changed Again, One Fine Day, Come Out Swinging
Splinter- with this one you get a sense that this band is trying to become more serious. The songs are slowed down yet still have that same Offspring spirit. Again another album I couldn’t get into quite as much however, you can tell that they’re trying to branch out a bit. Now one of the names for this record was going to be jokingly called Chinese Democracy and in fact Guns N’ Roses tried to sue but the lawsuit was dropped as you cannot sue for album names. Another title was Offspring Bloody Offspring but I think they should’ve gone with Chinese Democracy.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 6.5/10
Standouts: The Worst Hangover Ever, Long Way Home, Lightning Rod
Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace- if you ask me, this one feels a lot like the last album. I do remember hearing the song “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid” on KROQ and remember thinking “this is seriously the lead single?” That song aside, the rest of the album isn’t bad but it’s one of those that’s good not great. You can tell that they’re moving forward and not trying to make another Smash.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 7.5/10
Standouts: Hammerhead, Nothingtown, Takes Me Nowhere
Days Go By- according to the band, this album includes songs that weren’t on the previous record and it very much feels like it. When I first heard this record, it didn’t really care for it but this time I actually don’t find it to be that bad. Now that said, while I don’t think it’s that bad, it’s not a record I would go and revisit.
Previous Score: 5/10
New Score: 6.5/10
Standouts: Secrets From The Underground, Hurting As One, Dividing By Zero
Let The Bad Times Roll- so there was a nine year gap between this album and the previous one. Usually a band comes back with a great record however, in this case not so much. This one is just kind of boring and I really couldn’t get into it even listening to it for a second time around. It’s not all bad but as a whole, it’s not that great.
Previous Score: 5/10
New Score: 5/10
Standouts: We Never Have Sex Anymore, Army Of One, Hassan Chop
Supercharged- When you’re 11 albums in, where do you kind of go? Well for this band, you make this kind of album. This one feels like they’re trying to sort of bring back their older sound and you can definitely tell. It’s one of those albums that has a mix of older Offspring with newer Offspring. Now while I do find it to be a step up, it’s one of those that I probably wouldn’t have as one of my go to albums. I’ll give this album 7/10
Standouts: Light It Up, Truth In Fiction, Hanging By A Thread
You can’t deny that for a certain period, these guys had a great 3-5 album run and for a band that’s pretty impressive. There’s a reason why albums like Smash and Americana are considered classics and several of these albums have songs that I grew up with. At the end of the day, this is a fun band with really fun songs and live they always put on a great show!!
Final Grade: B+
Album Rankings:
- Ixnay On The Hombre
- Smash
- Americana
- Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
- Ignition
- Conspiracy Of One
- Splinter
- The Offspring
- Days Go By
- Let The Bad Times Roll
New Album Rankings:
- Smash
- Ixnay On The Hombre
- Americana
- Ignition
- Conspiracy Of One
- Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace
- Splinter
- The Offspring
- Supercharged
- Days Go By
- Let The Bad Times Roll
Sinister Reviews 