Offspring leans into past while floating along present with fuzzy future
The Offspring’s iconic SoCal style has allowed them to remain amongst the most reputable bands in punk rock, an arduous title maintained through notable signatures: Rancid, Green Day and NOFX. Despite debuting nearly 40 years ago, enduring some minor member changes, cranking out 11 outstanding studio albums, founding a record label, and assaying the task of staying relevant through shifts of generations, The Offspring still manages to reign at the the top of the punk rock billboards with their latest release, Supercharged.
Despite the release of this eleventh album and recent performances around the world, the band has seen a halt from the spotlight after their 2021 release: Let the Bad Times Roll. The latter of the album reflects a sense of rush, ultimately disappointing fan’s expectations that have been pent up for nearly a decade. With fans staying true to the band through years of waiting for a new album, many felt disappointment and an inability to ignore the faults in the most recent work.
Even with a majority of the album reviews being positive, a noticeable change that audiences were quick to pick up on, as well as quick to debate about, was the album cover for Supercharged: an allusion to their 1994 record-breaking album release, Smash. Although Supercharged is not projected to be nearly as big of a seller as Smash due to the consumption of digital media, it echoes Smash by carrying a consistently aggressive sound complementing the angst found in the mid 90’s; Supercharged finds itself in a more pop-punk sensibility, explaining the band’s continued relevancy.
The new tunes juxtapose their iconic, fast paced SoCal roots in pieces including “The Fall Guy” and “Truth In Fiction,” then shifting into Untitled era Blink-182 with tracks like “Make it Right” and “Ok, but This is the Last Time” both containing lyrics and vocals that sound like they should be coming out of a more nasally, sullen Tom Delonge.
Minute shifts from what audiences have come to love, and seemingly expect, culminate in the unfortunate outcome of the vibrant fiasco. With ever-present tonal shifts that appear throughout, the base layer remains faithful to the original mood as vocalist Dexter Holland belts out steady, yet powerful ballads in his high pitched cry, the overriding brand of The Offspring’s sound.
Instrumentally, the songs that stick to the original Offspring formula, are due to the steady, well structured bridges, and their quick, alternating rhythms from guitarist Kevin ‘Noodles’ Wasserman backed by the bass heavy drum style from new drummer Brandon Pertzborn.
Besides the songs reflecting the standards for the legendary band, the rest of the album maintains a sense of freshness, reinforcing the ultimate, ‘90s style punk. When referencing the individual songs that are featured on the album, the critically acclaimed highlight “Light It Up” provokes the energy from past albums, alluding to the origins of Offspring like “The Fall Guy”. The nuances of the album reflect past monuments like "The Kids Aren’t Alright” did for Americana culture. Aside from the obvious, another testimony to their brilliance comes with “Truth in Fiction” reviving the Bad Religion melodic hardcore in their own glorious way.
Regardless of their long lasting repertoire of accomplishments, Supercharged is surely not going to be adding any more trophies to their case. The album itself has a few bright spots that bring in a new era for the band, taking them back to the basements and area clubs that they once played in not caring about marketability and supercharging their youth, but more is needed for that side of the story to fully come true.
Grade: C+
by Eddie Tornow
Published December 2nd, 2024
Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue III