By DAN SOUTHALL
THE Offspring have been plying their trade in ‘punk’ for a long time. Well, in popular music anyway. It can be argued that it is a very long time since the band has had any real relation to the punk scene that spawned them beyond the odd dot point here or there, focusing instead on jangly garage type music or hokey joke tracks that boost singles numbers, but don’t do much for the integrity of their punk roots.
Beginning on their last album, the band began to ebb back towards the style of music that originally saw them at the top of the pile in the late nineties. This album sees a full reflection on their storied career. In just over half an hour they slap open the doors and break a few windows in a manner that many will have thought lost to The Offspring at the beginning of this century.
Starting in very familiar territory, “Looking Out For #1” begins with keys and a bounce that draws the ear in before they let you know, in no uncertain terms, that despite their age (pushing 60 if you haven’t kept up), there is still plenty of bite left in the old dog, setting a tone that will carry through out most of Supercharged.
Pouring fuel on the fire, “Light It Up” has the band going right back to their roots at a pace that is refreshing and at least I have longed for since their most famous album. Yes, it does show some of the lessons learned as seen in The Fall Guy as well. Their modern sound begins to creep in on the middle tracks that see a small slow down in pace, but nothing like previous albums. If anything, it gives us older listeners a couple of minutes to catch our breath or leave the room for some fresh air.
The melodic lull doesn’t last too long, with the strongest track here, “Truth In Fiction”, sunk into the middle. Here The Offspring dig right back into their history and rage, as it would easily sit on their self-titled or Ignition albums. Swiftly following it is the closest this album will get to my least favourite part about the band, the jokey track. “Come To Brazil” is a funny take on a big band touring South America but with some serious musical chops attached as they knuckle down towards crossover thrash territory.
From here, the rest of Supercharged plays out as it started, with excitement and melody and the biggest star of the album, guitarist Noodles. He has been let off the chain in a way that he never has before and it is audible in the music just how fun he had making this album, peppered it with quick-fire solos and biting riffs. It is as if the band have finally dropped whatever shackled them and rediscovered the venom that made them a vital part of the musical landscape so long ago.
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