The vein continues to throb for SoCal punks The Offspring on their eleventh studio album.
After the impact of Smash and Americana, The Offspring will never lose their legacy as SoCal punk icons. That being said, their 2012 effort, Days Go By, came pretty damn close to doing exactly that, with songs like Cruising California feeling like a dated attempt at breaking into the mid-2000’s pop-scene.
The Offspring – Supercharged
- Label: Concord Records
- Release: Out Now
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So when the groups newest effort Supercharged was announced, sporting an electrified album cover reminiscent of Metallica’s Ride The Lightning, many assumed they weren’t straying too far from their heavier punk roots this time around.
Thankfully, they don’t. Sure, some of the tracks feel more like B-sides (‘Make It All Right’), but if you’re just wanting The Offspring sounding like they always have, Supercharged offers up everything you could have ever asked for.
From its opening seconds, it’s drenched in nostalgia. So much so that I’m still not convinced ‘Lookin Out For Number #1’ isn’t just a reinterpretation of the group’s smash-single ‘You’re Gonna Go Far Kid’, with its isolated snare/kick-drum patterns and chorus hook feeling a little too close for comfort.
‘Light It Up’ keeps it safe, maintaining the vintage Offspring flavour that we all know and love through relatively rudimentary punk riffs. ‘The Fall Guy’ and ‘Truth In Fiction’ serve up driving drum patterns, rapidfire power-chord driven riffs and riotous ‘Bro-Hymn’-esque singalongs that’ll go down a treat live.
While it may not offer anything new or overly exciting to their discography, nostalgic fans looking for a dose of The Offspring that doesn’t stray too far from the band’s original sound will find solace in the fact that Supercharged delivers exactly that.
Give The Offspring’s Supercharged album a listen here.
