The Offspring Attempt to Rise, But Stall Out On Runway

The Offspring, punk rock's red-headed stepchild, released Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace on Tuesday, their first album since 2003's Splinter. The Offspring haven't exactly ever been at the top of anything in their time. Smash may be the most successful indie-label album ever, but it came out 2 months after Green Day's seminal album Dookie. Every step of the way, where Dexter Holland was the kid at the science fair with the paper-maché volcano, Billie Joe Armstrong was the kid next to him that managed to build a flux capacitor. Likewise, every move they've made in marketing this album has been matched and overshadowed by Coldplay (who also dropped an album on Tuesday).

Before going into the review, I need to make one gripe about the album title. Yeah, it fits the nature of the record well, but I'd feel a hell of a lot better about it if it didn't bear a striking resemblance to the most recent Foo Fighters album. I know, I know-- I'm picking nits here. Just pointing out that it bugs me a bit. Not that this album holds a candle to the Foos though.

The record opens well enough with "Half-Truism", an anthemic musing on the state of the world a la Sum 41's "We're All To Blame". "Half-Truism" shows off some of what makes the Offspring a decent band; a huge chorus, a knowledge of both good musicianship and punk rock, and a means of blending the two together. When those qualities come through, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, has some real highlights.

However, inconsistency and half-assedness keep those gems marred. Other moments on the album either lack cohesion (the horrendous first single "Hammerhead") or try too hard to show the band trying to be a hardcore punk band, and less time actually being hardcore like the messy "Trust In You" (In theater we call this practice a number of bad things, among them 'mailing it in'). In other moments the Offspring are just bland, sounding less like the Dead Kennedys and more like Good Charlotte. "Fix You" may not be a cover of the Coldplay song, but it's boring enough to be mistaken for it. Even when the band does something that extends its own boundaries, its merely going into the safe territory of radio-ready rock balladry, such as "A Lot Like Me" and the fun, yet-all-too-familiar "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" (the apparent second single).

This is not to say the album is a total loss. Dexter Holland's vocals, with the soaring "whoa-oh-oh's" behind him, and the overall skill of the band manages to keep a number of songs floating, if not actually very good. "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" is a powerful, emotional piece of music that, while again smelling of Sum 41, shows off the band's potential for something greater than what's presented. The track most reminiscent of older Offspring "Stuff Is Messed Up" can't decide if it's being serious or not, but halfway through it stops mattering because it's so damn fun.

However, shitty songs played well are still shitty songs.

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is a rarity in that it actually gets better the longer you listen to it. The challenge is having the patience and will to get through the subpar and flat-out awful. Since I admittedly lost interest before the album closed out (and only kept going for the good of the review), I can't say that it's necessarily worth the effort you'd need to put forth.

Final Score: 4/10
The Offspring - Half-Truism [iTunes]
The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far Kid [iTunes]