Search - Offspring :: Splinter

Splinter-ed

acta_non_verba | ga | 06/16/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album really starts out strong and has a lot of high points along the way. However the bumps in the road are more like 12ft sinkholes and the album never seems to recover from it. There are at least four songs on here that should never have been released, and about three songs that just sound like a burned out bunch of guys trying to pinch-it-off and flush it before it starts to stink. Not their best work to date.



1. Neocon 6/10: Cool intro, wish it led into something more, seems like an unfinished thought.



2. The Noose 9/10: A return to their classic form, really great tune. Killer hook + verse, lyrics are on point, song has a great flow. Bang your head.



3. Long Way Home 7/10: Really a great track, I just wish the lyrics went somewhere. Fun to listen to. Dexter's voice sounds a bit strained in the verses and chorus.



4. Hit That 4/10: Did we really need another lame re-write of Pretty Fly for a White Guy? Just let it die already. I respect the lyrics I just wish it had something to back it up.



5.Race Against Myself 9/10: One of the better tracks on the album, a bit of a navel gazer but solid over-all. It really finds itself once it gets into the chorus.



6. Can't Get my Head Around You 10/10: Has a "Want You Bad" sort of vibe but with all the punch of the Americana production. Once again however I wish the lyrics were a bit more substantial.



7. Worst Hangover Ever 3/10: Worst song about a hangover ever. I want to have fun and listen but it's just awful.



8. Never Gonna Find Me 6/10: This track sounds just like tracks #5 & #6 mixed together. Once again the lyrics just drain the fun from the song. There is this genius breakdown at 1:33 that saves the song. If the whole song would have sounded like the 23 second breakdown it would have been a 10/10.



9. Lighting Rod 10/10: Finally another track on the album that is well written. Really fantastic track, I hear a lot of growth in it, one of the few tracks on the album that is able to bridge their classic sound along with their new direction.



10. Spare Me The Details 2/10: I guess this was meant to be the "Why Don't You Get a Job" track for this disc. The lyrics fall flat on their face as soon as Dexter opens his mouth. I would think someone who cares about them would have had the decency to never release this track.



11. Da Hui 8/10: It's fun, but completely mindless. Not the track I would want to end an album on, kind of weak.



12. When Your In Prison 0/10: WTF, this must be the kind of crap you put on your album if you no longer care about having a career. The Offspring for years have always had a killer last track that really ended their albums on a high note, clearly this album didn't have enough high notes to even warrent any kind of an ending.



From the intro to the first song you really get the impression that the band is back and ready to have a go at it, two middle fingers in the air and a blazing trail of guitar riffs to build on. But by the fourth track you start to wonder why they are still making music, it just seems like their inspiration has packed up and left the building. I think they really used a lot of elbow grease in the production but this is one turd they won't be able to polish.

"