Californian band The Offspring began their route into punk rock in 1984. From then on they have created some well received records, proudly exhibiting that punk rock, steel, that often-harsh sound. Through the years the records have become more polished, with even juggernaut album Americana taking on the commercial treatment. This may have garnered fans and made The Offspring a titan outfit, but many fans disbanded from the pack, feeling dismayed by the newly designed music.
2008 pushed the limit really, with Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace. An album featuring slower songs that many felt did not suit The Offspring’s pulsating output. All bands need to evolve, they all need to try to venture down different roads musically, and The Offspring did so.
Move to 2021, and we have been given the first album from The Offspring since 2012. Let The Bad Times Roll has landed but has not made an impact. Sorely missed are the days when an Offspring album created a buzz, an impression where every punk rock fan would count their coins to buy their latest. Let The Bad Times Roll is not an album brilliant through and through, it is not an album when all songs scream for a revolution; it is a record sadly sourced from a band truly out of ideas.
Sad to say, but honesty is the best policy, and Let The Bad Times Roll lacks value and coherency. It seems to be a mismatch, a collection of songs that do not work in synergy, and these songs will not bend the genre. Punk has become fashionable, it has become a distant force, and on this release, there is no sign of it piercing through. This is not an attack on a legendary outfit which has created some monumental offerings since their start in the early 80s, it is an assessment.
These tracks sound done to death. “Behind Your Walls” is catchy enough, but the riff has been reiterated. Often, we find a glint of something special, but “Behind Your Walls” offers the same old story. “Breaking These Bones” starts off with a decent guitar sequence, but then lead singer Dexter Holland sings about the same topics we have heard before. The instrumentals are good, these musicians are great at playing, but often, lyrically we have been taken here before. “The Opioid Diaries” is an assessment of the drug crisis hitting America. A song that shows an upsurge in quality, and the chorus packs a punch. Holland has penned a lyrical gem here, even though the rest lack significance.
The Offspring aren’t a terrible band. They are one of the most respected guitar bands out there, but their new LP simply doesn’t work in a cohesive manner.
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