Concord Records
Out Now
“I’m more than Hanging by A Thread here; the intro to this track has got me hook, line and sinker. This album just continues to finish stronger and stronger.”
Jimmy Glinster
It seems like this band has almost been around as long as me, and as I read their press release, it turns out they’ve been around since 1984. So yeah, almost as old as me … almost. I haven’t released 10 albums though, but they have, and I haven’t sold over 40 million albums which they also have. I’m not here to toot their horn though because I just don’t need to. They are one of the best-selling rock bands in history and have been credited for reviving mainstream interest in rock throughout the 90’s.
Anyway, they’ve just released a new album called SUPERCHARGED and the main man Dexter Holland claims “we wanted this record to have pure energy – from the start to the finish! That’s why we called it SUPERCHARGED. From the height of our aspirations to the depths of our struggles, we talk about it all on this record…in a way that celebrates the life that we share and where we are now”. The album was recorded in three different locations this time around: Maui, Vancouver, and their home studio in Huntington Beach, together with producer Bob Rock. With all that said, this should be a bit of a banger, but I’ll be the judge of that.
The album opens with some keys, which is odd, but it very quickly shifts to somewhat of a classic The Offspring vibe. Not as close as I expected with a title like SUPERCHARGED, but it does eventually get there in the first chorus. It shifts a little bit back and forth too much for me, from slower verses to punk choruses. The sound is definitely a more mature, and radio friendly version of the band. The track is called Looking Out For #1, but it’s no number one, maybe a top 10 though.
Light It Up kicks off like something from Ixnay on the Hombre, which I’ll mention right here is my favourite album of theirs. This is straight-up punk rock. If there is more of this type of stuff, I’ll be quite content and might even throw in a few Woah Oh Oh’s of my own! Yeah, this is my kind of Offspring vibe!
A short progressive sounding melodic strumming riff launches The Fall Guy, which has some kind of percussive shaker rattling around through the guitar riffs. Riffs that have a heavier guitar tone than I think I have ever heard from The Offspring. This is another classic punk rocker, with a super catchy chorus to boot.
Next up is the single Make It Right, which starts with some kind of weird drum beat and a chick telling me that all she wants to do is fly away with me. And yeah, it’s a single. It’s got that radio vibe all over it, and those lyrics that you can sing along to. This song is about “people in our lives who make us feel strong when we are feeling low – our partners in crime who make us feel all right”.
Ok But This Is the Last Time sounds like something we’ve all said before, and as per the lyrics the song is about exactly what you think it’s about. It’s a softer song, but not quite a ballad … not quiet. It’s not a punk song, it’s more of a pop rock song. This is something that would have fit well in Kelly Clarkson’s catalogue.
The next track is the shortest on the album, clocking in at 2 minutes on the dot. Truth in Fiction is exactly what you’d expect from a 2-minute punk track. And again, that heavier guitar tone is pushing through with a solid bottom end. I’d like to know if it’s an amp tone or a digital processor tone. I’m betting on the latter.
Come To Brazil keeps the pace up, but doesn’t finish as quickly as its predecessor. It’s got that Ixnay feel again, which is really working for me. This is one of the more supercharged tracks on the album, even though the choruses slow to a thumping tribal sound that reflects the song title. It even has a guitar solo at the end of it, and an Olay Olay Olay Olay!!!
The end of this album is becoming fun as I Get Some … more classic The Offspring punk rock tunes. I’m not sure about the Sympathy for The Devil “Woo Woo’s” through the track though, but I’ll deal with it as the snare cracks to a solid 4/4 beat in my ears.
I’m more than Hanging by A Thread here, the intro to this track has got me hook, line and sinker. With a couple of hiccups earlier on with some possibly “too radio friendly” tracks – just my opinion of course – this album just continues to finish stronger and stronger. And that goddamn guitar tone, I’m so into it. Even more so, when they hit some dual harmony style stuff that you’re more likely to hear on a Metallica album. Killer track!
Alright, here it is, the final track, the last hoorah. You Can’t Get There from Here, they say. Well, I don’t know where there or here is, so I’ll just have to nod and agree. I was kind of hoping this would be a bit more of a banger, but it is a little dialled back, as most album closers are these days. Still a strong track though, but pushing more towards a radio rock song than a punk song.
Well, what can I say. Not bad for a bunch of old punk rockers from Garden Grove, California. They’ve still got it, and I think you’ll all enjoy it. I bloody well did!
