Unglued Reviews

Thankfully bucking their trend of having horribly gimmicky joke songs as singles (Pretty Fly [For A White Guy], Original Prankster, Hit That), the first cut released from Orange County punk band The Offspringā€™s 2008 album has been their hardest-hitting single in nearly a decade: the punchy Hammerhead races along like the bandā€™s best for two-thirds of its nearly five minutes before taking a twist, changing tempo and rhythm for a strong finish.

Itā€™s almost symbolic of the whole album. Much of the record is familiar: Trust In You is vintage Offspring (so much so that it sounds a little too close to the title track from their highwater mark, 1994ā€™s Smash), and Takes Me Nowhere and Rise And Fall also showcase their typical chugging guitar riffs and catchy melodies. However, there are a few twists: Youā€™re Gonna Go Far, Kid incorporates dance-rock influences into their trademark sound, and Letā€™s Hear It For Rock Bottomā€™s verses recall The Police. Slower-paced stadium rocker A Lot Like Me may be in a very similar vein to Ixnay On The Hombreā€™s Gone Away, but the band take a step further into true ballad territory with piano-embellished Fix You and the well-intentioned but saccharine Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?

While recognisable as the same band many of their fans have grown up with, Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace finds The Offspring growing up a bit themselves, as evidenced by the lack of novelty tracks (although it might be kinder to call Stuff Is Messed Up a joke than take it seriously, given its glib response to social and environmental problems, ā€?Shit is fucked upā€¯). Theyā€™re still having fun though, as Letā€™s Hear It For Rock Bottomā€™s exuberant chorus testifies.

While flawed, and (naturally) no match for Smash, this is still the strongest Offspring album since 1998ā€™s Americana.

Owen Heitmann.