My relationship with punk music has always been spotty at best. I’ve found some joy in the Ramones, Bad Religion and Sex Pistols, but it seems that more recent examples of punk are watered down. I do enjoy Green Day on some level, but as they’ve become more and more famous the quality of their music seems to have gone way down. I suppose the same thing can be said about the Offspring. They are on some level punk, but most recently have gone the way of novelty and humor.
Well before the Offspring recorded a bona fide rock hit, they were an underground success story in California. Formed in 1985, the foursome didn’t release their debut self-titled album until 1989. Four years later the band, consisting of Dexter Holland (vocals), Kevin Wasserman (guitar), Greg Kriesel (bass), and Ron Welty (drums), released Ignition. The album went on to underground success and helped to pave the way to the above-ground successes felt by 1994’s Smash.
It’s often maintained that when a band goes mainstream that their musical quality falters. In this case, that credo doesn’t apply. In fact, 1994’s Smash features some of the best rock guitars ever produced by Wasserman (aka “Noodles”) in addition to a great combination of lighthearted pseudo-punk attitude mixed with straight forward rock and roll. Smash was the last album that the Offspring recorded with popular underground rock label Epitaph.
The later major label release Ixnay on the Hombre attempted to reestablish the band as a larger success. But, that didn’t happen. 1998’s Americana found a different audience as a direct result of the band’s infusion of laugh-out-loud lyrics and punk/rock guitars. The Offspring’s clean cut image made the album an easy sell to parents while kids got laughs out of tracks like Pretty Fly (for a white guy) and Why Don’t You Get a Job?. I suppose each of the tracks is a social commentary, but what I got out of the songs was that the band was trying to be funny and succeeding.
Most recently, Offspring released the pretty quickly forgotten Conspiracy of One. There were some bright spots during this more mature album’s run in the form of Original Prankster and some other less popular tracks. But, to date, the most rounded and musically relevant album has been Smash.
Smash showcased a band that seemed comfortable in the role of rock and rollers. But, time and time again, the Californians claimed to be punk. Whatever…their sound is more reminiscent of heavy metal and rock than it is of punk rock. The tempo is slower and more methodical than the frenetic punk that they claimed to be. Holland sings rather than yelps. The guitars are played rather than slapped. You get the picture.
Selling eleven million albums, Smash is the band’s most critically and commercially successful effort to date. It is also the biggest indie release in history…and for good reason. It’s a high quality, entertaining album on the whole consisting of some great hit singles. A breath of fresh air at the end of grunge, Smash couldn’t have come at a better time. Both Come Out and Play and Self Esteem made a major impression on rock radio and MTV. And fortunate for the Offspring, there really is more to Smash than just two songs.
For example, Gotta Get Away relies on hard hitting rock drums, a driving bass line and a repetitive melody. Holland’s vocals are actually rather nice, and the song as a whole reminds me specifically of Bad Religion. Aside from all comparisons, this track is an accomplishment that is no less worthy than the band’s most popular tracks. As I already said, the melody is repetitive, but with the energetic delivery and ultimately infectious chorus this track sits as one of the best on Smash.
Something To Believe In is a tidy mix between speed metal and punk-pop. The tempo is exceptional fast while Holland’s vocal delivery remains controlled and smooth. His voice is certainly one of the major reasons why this band made a splash…he is more intelligible and actually seems to have some talent aside from the ability to yowl.
Each of the fourteen tracks on this album is solid, aside from the four I’ve already mentioned briefly, none stands out in particular. It’s just an album that’s easy to listen to from beginning to end with a few extra special and easily recognizable songs. Come Out And Play is a social commentary about gang warfare and youth culture as accompanied by grinding guitars and easily separated verses and choruses. It’s easy to see why this track was popular back in 1995.
Pretty much the same thing applies to Self Esteem. I enjoy the infusion of very grungy guitars and drums and the carefree attitude. The song begins in such a way that Nirvana could have just as easily written the track. That all changes when Holland sneaks in with his lyrics and vocals. Self Esteem is anything and everything but punk. It was an easy song to help to transition the So Cal band from obscurity to stardom in the post-grunge era.
Smash is complete from Time To Relax though Smash. I suppose some of the tracks blend into one another, but when they are on the whole quite good there’s no reason to complain. The Offspring made quite an impression on me as an 18-year-old high school senior and former grunge junkie. Honestly, the legacy that the band leaves is simply that they helped (along side Green Day) to usher in an age of punk music infused with pop and rock that was palatable to the masses. Overall, I like this album. It’s by no means a masterpiece, but Smash is deserving of 4/5 stars and a thumbs up recommendation. It’s not for hard core punk fans, rather this Offspring album should prove appealing to rock fans who have a occasional craving for something a bit different and a bit punk.
Track Listing:
1. Time To Relax
2. Nitro (Youth Energy)
3. Bad Habit
4. Gotta Get Away
5. Genocide
6. Something To Believe In
7. Come Out And Play
8. Self Esteem
9. It’ll Be a Long Time
10. Killboy Powerhead
11. What Happened To You?
12. So Alone
13. Not The One
14. Smash
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Sidenote: For people who think that all punk rockers and pseudo-punk rocks are idiots consider this. Dexter Holland is a PhD candidate in molecular biology. I don’t know any stupid candidates for a Doctorate…
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