Way back at the beginning of the year I heard about Offspring’s new album. At that specific time it was titled Chinese Democracy and it was to be released in early Summer. I was really excited because I’ve been a fan of Offspring since 㥪 with Americana and even if I was in for a poppy ride, I needed to buy the album just to see. Well, December slowly emerged and two singles were out: Da Hui and Hit That. A lot of people I knew enjoyed the songs, but I wanted to hold off listening to them until I bought the album. Last week was when I bought the record and here I am reviewing it. My first review of the New Year. My first thoughts of Splinter was that it actually sounded really good; much different from the Conspiracy Of One and Americana albums.

Yes, you heard me right: I like the new Offspring album.

There are other differences besides Dexter Holland being a little chubbier in the Da Hui music video. One difference is that long-time drummer Ron Welty is not part of Offspring anymore, which is hard to grasp since he was such a damn good drummer. Who replaced him on the stool? Well, you can’t replace Welty since he was one of the best, but two guys take equal shots and these guys are John Freese (from A Perfect Circle fame) and Atom (from one of the best bands of all time, Rocket From The Crypt). Another thing that’s sort of new is they experiment with some new ideas (a lot of bands did the same this year) like incorporating keyboard work in some of their songs as well as violins and stuff. Splinter’s sound has more in common with Americana than with any of their other albums. Instead of being really poppy or just making fools of themselves, they do a really good job with this album and even if there are some gag/filler tracks and some poppy songs, the CD itself is much better than what the band has come up with as of late. The gag/filler tracks are good anyway…

The Offspring was started back in the late eighties and that’s when they released their magnificent self-titled album, which will always be the band’s finest CD. After that, they released Ignition on the punk/pop mega-label Epitaph and that record remains a big fan favorite as well as an underground success for the band. After that, the band’s most famous record came out and that of course was Smash, which made some decent money as well boosted the band into mainstream and gave them a lot of fans. It wasn’t until Ixnay On The Hombre and Americana until they were an A-list pop/punk band. Ixnay brought the end to their punk roots and Americana finished off everything with successful singles like Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), Why Don’t You Get A Job?, and She’s Got Issues. Fast forward to Y2K when Offspring released Conspiracy Of One arguably my least favorite CD by them. After that they basically went into a deep slumber not appearing except for a couple shows and the single Defy You for a movie soundtrack. It’s about time they released a new CD. Geez!

The Offspring have always been pretty sarcastic about the censorship of music (refer to the introductory song on Ixnay voiced by Jello Biafra) and with Splinter they continue this fashion. When I bought Splinter there was a sticker on the case that said “This album carries an explicit content sticker because it contains 11 expletives”. I have to agree with Offspring that the whole Parental Advisory thing is very ridiculous. Anyway, in an interview Dexter Holland said that he changed the name of the CD from Chinese Democracy (a very cooler title than Splinter) to the name of their CD because he though that in the past titles with one word were more successful than the ones with more words. But you can easily tell that that isn’t the reason why they changed it. Back when the album was first mentioned, Offspring were bragging that they stole the title from the new Guns ‘n’ Roses album because Axel stole Dexter’s dreadlocks idea. I think what really was that Guns threatened to sue so Offspring quickly changed the name. But that’s just my opinion.

Neocon starts out the album with a drone-like tribal feeling, which sort of an anthem background with Dexter chanting some lines. It’s a pretty quick song and the drums are definitely the highlight. The Noose is next on the play list and although it’s not one of my favorites, it’s still listenable and catchy. It brings out the new sound of The Offspring that is sort of a Pennywise-type of sound. The guitars lead the onslaught of hard rocking sound with the chorus being the finest part of the song, which is a Dexter yelling fast paced words. Wow, I guess I do like this song. Long Way Home is sort of reminiscent of something off of Conspiracy Of One meaning that this is the only song I don’t like on Splinter. I don’t like the chorus or the verses and for that matter the bass and guitar intervention annoys me. There is one part of the song that rocks and that is a wicked drum solo in the middle of the song, which totally impresses. I guess it is “cool to hate”.

After that track, Hit That starts and I have to admit that it is one of my favorite Offspring songs. Even if it is a little cheesy and sounds like it was kicked off of Americana’s track list, it’s still awesome with incredibly mellow and rad bass melodies. The keyboarding displayed in this song is also pretty awesome and they totally fit the song perfectly. The drums are sort of techno and stuff, but that’s the only drag of the song. Also, the guitars are really not much to look at besides the occasional awesome riff. It’s a fast paced track and I love it. After Hit That another one of my favorite songs play and that track is Race Against Myself. This is an artsy fartsy song that Offspring has done something like before. The lyrics are sentimental and actually very well written—probably some of the best lyrics ever come up with by Offspring besides the magnificent track Gone Away on Ixnay. The song has a wicked chorus that is really cool and catchy about trying not to give up on something, but eventually losing the race against yourself.

(Can’t Get My) Head Around You is another really fine track that’s unlike a lot of things Offspring has produced in the past. The song’s instrumentality is just amazing and very impressive. The drums and guitars are just rad and nice with cool solos and they just make compliment the track. The bass is sort of left in the dust with no really truly inspiring solos at all in the song. The song is hard rocking and a really awesome track that’s another one of my favorites that also has a nice Pennywise taste to it. After that, The Worst Hangover Ever starts. This song is actually alright even if it has a mock-Ska flavor to it. There’s horns and keyboards as well as bass and guitars designed to appeal to Ska fans. The drums are even Jamaican. This track is really good even if it reminds me of NOFX’s Anarchy Camp (a song I really don’t like). The song is also a little humorous about Dexter having a big hangover and not wanting to drink again…until maybe next weekend.

Another Americana knock-off track is Never Gonna Find Me. This song is really fast paced and really reminds me of themes off of the aforementioned record. The chorus is good and cheery, but the verses really don’t have good lyrics. The bass and guitars work in great unison while the drums just mix everything up and add interest. Dexter’s voice start getting annoying in Never Gonna Find Me and the “whoas” do get old after a while, so I guess this is sort of a rotten track, but I still listen to it. Lightning Rod has the same tones and sound as tracks off of Ixnay On The Hombre, which immediately means that I love this song. Lightning Rod is another fast paced track and even if the lyrics aren’t as seasoned as some other songs on the record, they are still okay. The guitars and bass are fascinating to hear because they are very rock ‘n’ roll oriented instead of metal or punk. My favorite part of the song is near the end of the song when it slows down and you just hear the drums and bass and then it just explodes into the chorus and the end of the track. I love this song. Atom did well. Spare Me The Details starts abruptly after the end of the song and I happen to thoroughly love this song. The lyrics—all of them—are just well written as well as the new element of soft guitar playing mixed with rocking bass and drums. The song sort of sounds like something Sugar Ray would do, but it’s still good despite that. Spare Me The Details is about not wanting to know about your girlfriend’s “exploits”. The guitars get hard around a bend in the song, but then resort back to soft. Close to the end of the song is a kicking bass and drum lock-up and then it gets really cool again. Never mind, the whole song is cool.

Da Hui keeps it simple. Simple lyrics, simple chords, simple all over. It’s a friggin’ rad track, buddies. I just love this song. It’s fast paced and short. It’s the punkest track off of Splinter and brings back some nostalgic flavors from Smash and self-titled. The drums as well as the guitars are working their butts off to make an amazing sound and they connect. The bass is really not heard over the smashing of the drums and string tugs of the guitar. Err, I love this song. After Da Hui comes a gag track entitled When You’re In Prison. I like this song for being so ballsy. Not only is it sort of cliché (don’t pick up the soap, put your back against the wall, don’t be someone’s b!tch, etc.) and sort of corny, it’s still oddly funny. It’s pretty cool with a torn vinyl sort of sound with violins and basses with Noodles humming and singing in a nice voice. It’s not the perfect closing track, but it does connect to a certain extent.

Speaking of closing tracks, it’s time for me to say my words of closing. When you’re at Uncle Mikey’s house on Nevertell Ranch don’t pick up the candy, don’t pick up the candy. Or you will have a…ripped anal tube. Come on, folks! Sing it with me! Alright, I’m not the best singer, but at least I tried. Splinter stunned me. Not only did it surprise me with its craftsmanship, but it also gave me something to look forward to in the future. I guess the Offspring weren’t just doing nothing for three years. I am very impressed, guys, and hopefully you won’t wait so long to release another CD. Splinter is a tad short though being a little over a half an hour. It's over way to soon and that's the only crappy part about it. But besides that, the CD is cool. The Offspring have grown and even though they are not like they were in 1989, they have spread their wings across the genre and market and hopefully you will give Splinter a shot. Hey, it made an old fan happy, so isn’t that worth something? Happy New Years, folks! (And sorry for the Jacko comment, but I’m still holding a grudge against him for giving me a dirty Sanchez a couple years back…Michael, you’re sick doo doo bastard!)

© Jason Haskins, 2004

“JiggyJay”


”Splinter”

Artist: Offspring

Genre: Pop/Punk

Year: 2003

Price: $13.99


01. Neocon
02. The Noose
03. Long Way Home
04. Hit That
05. Race Against Myself
06. (Can’t Get My) Head Around You
07. The Worst Hangover Ever
08. Never Gonna Find Me
09. Lightning Rod
10. Spare Me The Details
11. Da Hui
12. When You’re In Prison





Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising