The Californian act “The Offspring” secured their place as punk frontrunners in the early 90s with albums such as “Smash” and “Americana,” with both records boasting some incredible content, giving “The Offspring” a platform to work upon. As a collective, they did deserve their massive following and mainstream success, though some subpar albums would follow.
When the millennium hit, The Offspring released a collection of songs that didn’t do their reputation any harm. In fact, Conspiracy Of One had somewhat reinstated the band as a true contender, pushing them into the mainstream once more. It wasn’t a flawless album, though it had measure and scope, rattling guitar lines and infectious lyricism.
Songs such as ‘Want You Bad’ and ‘Original Prankster’ beefed up the album and gave fans some much-needed punk drama. These songs were definitely commercial hits that were exhibited on MTV, giving The Offspring even more exposure, and letting them gain more money and fame.
Follow-up album Splinter would ultimately disregard the punk scene as a whole, and it was a collection of songs that didn’t quite hit the right tone. Many of the songs seemed overly produced and underwhelming, and while The Offspring tried to experiment with sound, they didn’t add enough to it.
Splinter had its commercial tracks, such as ‘Hit That’ and ‘Spare Me The Details’, songs which did give fans some sort of reprieve, though the band didn’t give their all to this project either and it felt like an aimless shot in the dark.
The Offspring was a band in transition, and Splinter sounded rushed and sonically inept. This was from a band that conquered the punk scene with reckless abandon in the past. Their previous records had those commanding lyrics, those fundamental, punchy, riffs and the production values were always on point. It’s a shame their seventh studio album failed to hit the mark.