ARTIST: The Offspring
ALBUM: Days Go By
LABEL: Columbia
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2012
Days Gone By?
Written by Dan Sinclair
In case you forgot about them, the longtime punk rockers from the OC, The Offspring, are back with their ninth studio album, Days Go By. The album was produced by Bob Rock (Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Metallica) and is the first one to feature brand new drummer Pete Parada who joined the band after the departure of longtime percussion man Adam “Atom” Willard. But fear not, Dexter Holland, Greg K. and Noodles are all still with the band and are rocking out on every track of the new album.
Out of the first few songs, “The Future Is Now,” “Secrets From the Underground” and “Turning Into You,” are all somewhat distracting. This is because they sound a little too familiar. And while this may be something that is expected from a band that has been around a long time, the difference here is these songs don’t sound familiar because of The Offspring’s past, they all sound very similar to songs done by other punk rock bands over the past decade or so. In fact, “Turning Into You” sounds too reminiscent of Rise Against’s “Ready to Fall.” None of these songs are bad, but it’s hard to appreciate a song when you feel like you’ve already heard the same song performed better by another band (and it’s not a cover song).
Mixed in there is the single “Days Go By,” which is a great example of The Offspring at their best. It’s a catchy, memorable song with words that will make us feel us nostalgic without ever feeling like we heard them before. After all, “Those days go by and we all start again.” “Hurting As One” fits along well in this same suit a few tracks later.
“All I Have Left Is You” is a very cool, mellow track that is a much better example of the way The Offspring should be going in their progression. Though it’s much different in sound, it’s good, catchy and seems to fit alongside anything else they’ve done without missing a beat.
“Cruising California” is a decent example where The Offspring do a good job with the novelty songs that are designed to attack the pop charts without sounding as annoying as “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy),” but then you hear “OC Guns” and it is the exact opposite, making you wonder if maybe these types of songs are getting old and should be removed altogether.
However, The Offspring finish pretty strong with the better-than-decent “Dirty Magic,” the catchy-enough-without-becoming-annoying “I Wanna Secret Family (With You)” and the kick-ass, heavier, faster “Dividing by Zero” all coming in a row. The closing track of “Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell” may actually be the best song on the album, with highlights of all the things The Offspring have always done right, complete with a chant of “Dance, fucker, dance, let the motherfucker burn!”
The biggest disappointment of Days Go By is the mixed results of the new directions the band attempts. The imitation of styles already done better by other modern-day bands fail, while the mellow and memorable “All I Have Left” hits its mark. And while there are some great, true Offspring-sounding songs like the title track and the one with the super long name, the novelty tracks quickly grow tired and will make even the most hardcore Offspring fan feel like he or she’s gotta get away. Get it? All in all, there are some good tracks on here and even a few great ones. But, as a whole, the album Days Go By falls well short of the high standards set for a band that has been successful for such a long time.