Words – Tracey Moyle {Music Maven}
After 40 years, 20+ music releases, including albums and EP’s, over 30 singles and countless sold out shows, The Offspring need no introduction. Fans of these SoCal punk rockers are amongst the most dedicated, so when the band announce a new album is in the works, people get excited.
With their 11th studio album ‘Supercharged’ due for release tomorrow, fans are keen to hear what the band have dug up from their depths, knowing that a lot of raw emotion, creative energy and hard work goes into every Offspring offering.
‘Supercharged’ plays through, exactly as the title calls it. This album is fully charged. Four decades in and the band are still releasing music their fans want to hear. They celebrated their first #1 single in 1994 with Come Out And Play and in June 2024 the band released Make It All Right, giving them yet another #1 track on the American Rock & Alternative Airplay chart.
What is their secret? After half a lifetime in the industry, it’s easy for bands to get stuck, regurgitating the same sound with different lyrics only to find their fans growing bored of the same old, same old. The Offspring are not this band, they have kept their signature sound, expanding on it, growing into it, but not repeating it.
It’s been 30 years since the band’s third album ‘Smash’ blew the band up the charts and the eardrums of fans around the globe, and here we are, four decades on, reviewing studio album number 11.
As a faithful fan, holding my own special memories of the year ‘Smash’ changed my life, I am always excited when The Offspring drop a new album. Is it always ‘Smash’ awesome? No, but without doubt, it’s always something great. So, let’s delve into ‘Supercharged’ and see what these statesmen of punk rock have brought to fans this time around.
First up, the aptly titled Looking Out For #1 quickly puts any trepidation to ease. There’s an essence of something unique in this opening track, which you’ll soon discover carries throughout the album. That wonderfully familiar Offspring frantic pace, Noodles firing off riffs, the undeniable vocals of Dexter Holland, crisp and fresh as ever, the track engaging the two sides of these SoCal legends, Punk and Rock. Following on Light It Up belts out, the band sounding as passionate and energetic as any well-oiled garage punk band fresh out of the current scene. If it’s even possible for these seasoned artists, they sound tighter than ever.
I guess they’ve had plenty of time to practice.
Dexter’s narrative on The Fall Guy is clearly centre point on this track. You feel there is a strong message behind the song from the zeal in his vocals. “I’ve never been ok with the things you make me do, I’m swallowing my pride, but I think those days are through. I dealt with it all ‘cause I didn’t know any other way”. Fast paced and lyrically focused, are they talking from experience or from observation? Doesn’t matter, you’ll get the point. “Never be you with all my might”.
The album’s second single, Make It All Right, is a catchy earworm. Pop punk driven and upbeat, the track is an ode to those who help ‘make it all right’. Dexter said about the track, “it talks about the people in our lives who make us feel strong when we are feeling low – our partners in crime who make us feel all right.”
Ok, But This Is The Last Time – how many times have you heard/said those words. This is the first track that moves a little further away from the bands key sound. Holland’s identifiable vocals take us on another introspective ride with this rock track. Slower paced but lyrically the message is key. And just in case you were wandering off, Truth In Fiction, will blast you back to the present musical moment. Punk 101. Fast paced, rapid riffs, breakneck drumming and only 2 minutes long. Every good punk album needs a circle pit track, and this is it, ‘Supercharged’! Classic Offspring brilliance.
Then there’s the contrast with latest single, Come To Brazil. Here is where we drop from the shortest track on the album to the longest. This is a massive rock track. I swear in the first 30 seconds I thought I’d magically stumbled on some old lost Queen track. Punk, thrash, metal all come together to create this monster of a song. This track was written for their dedicated South American fanbase, the band always getting messages begging the band to ‘Come To Brazil’. Dropping from signature Offspring to a slow pounding of old school metal, back to rapid fire riffs, this track also feels like an ode to an era of music that may have strongly influenced this band.
More rock riffs and pounding bass open up Get Some. I may be delusional, but my first impression of this track takes me back to Van Halen days when David Lee Roth was strutting around front of stage. The song is a massive rock celebration, it even pulls out (maybe in my head only) some Steve Miller Band-esque “ooo, ooo’s” (think Take The Money and Run). But maybe that’s just me. I love this track.
Hanging By A Thread, again brings a heavier rock emphasis to this album and it’s not a bad thing. Brandon Pertzborn is the current drummer for The Offspring. He was born the year ‘Smash’ hit the charts. And that’s a good thing. Drumming for tracks like this (and others) must be very similar to a x-fit training session.
I feel like the band may have been revisiting old influences over the past few years and it seems this album may have been inspired by some of those classics. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. We come to the final track, You Can’t Get There From Here and immediately I find myself reminiscent of The Who. The drop is evident from the first verse, they take it back to their signature through the chorus. The song is brilliant. They have captured something special on studio album no. 11, dropping into little musical gems throughout this song and others on the album.
What The Offspring have produced with ‘Supercharged’ seems to have been born from a creative work of passion. Passion for music, their own and the music that shaped them. They made this album with a promise to the fans that this would be full of supercharged tracks, and they have delivered on that promise. The band have brought us something meaty enough to bite into and chew on for a long time to come. Their music is timeless yet constantly inspired. They have found the key to staying consistently true to their Offspring signature sound, whilst still digging deep into their own creative juices and bring fans something well worth the wait.
PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE ‘Supercharged’ HERE – Released on Friday October 11th.
Thanks to Dallas Does PR
