The Offspring - Let the bad times Roll

 "Let the band times Roll" is the 10th album by rock punk gods The Offspring.  This album has been 9 years in the making.  Things like the bands touring schedule, legal issues, changing label, changing bassist and of course covid all contributing to taking so long to get this album out.  Back in the late nineties when "Americana" was released then "Conspiracy of One" in 2000 I like many, many others was really into The Offspring. They could do no wrong at that point and were well and truly in the eye of the mainstream with strong radio and MTV play.  But out with those times, although still having a healthy fanbase, that really was peak Offspring.  Which is slightly unfair as Offspring have had some great singles and albums out with those times.

But after 9 years what does "Let the bad times Roll" have to offer.  Well after hearing the first 2 singles "Let the bad times roll" and "We never have sex anymore" I have to say I lowered my expectations.   I started planning out this review and basically ready to destroy this album based on the 2 singles. Then though the album came out.  "This is Utopia" kicks it off which I thought was alright.  Then I cringed a bit knowing the title track was coming and suddenly during it I changed my mind and thought hang on this is quite a catchy and good tune.  It's like it suddenly started to make sense in a blink of an eye.

In fact, most of this album sees The Offspring at their punk rock best.  Short, catchy, in your face songs which really pack a punch.  Yes, some hit harder than others but that mixes things up by keeping the pace of the album changing.  The second single "We never have sex anymore" is an example of this as the guitars are ditched as the instrumental focal point is the brass instruments and it works a treat.  Another interesting track is "In the hall of the mountain king" which is a cover of a classical piece by Edvard Grieg dating back to 1875.  Now you may be wondering what the hell is that but if you hear it, you will instantly recognise it.  The Offspring have done a minute adaption of it using electric guitars.   It's one of those tunes a band might do while messing around on stage in between songs. But here Offspring put it on their album.  Some artists may not get away with it, but The Offspring are punk rock, so this rightfully adds that fun element to the album.

It's not all fun though as on the 11th track The Offspring get a bit more serious with a piano version of 1997's "Gone away" which you can find the full electric version on "Inxay on the Hombre".  I think you need to be a hardened Offspring fan to even realise this is adaptation of a song that was released some 24 years ago.  The only thing which makes it the same really is the lyrics as the piano really does completely transform it. If you put different lyrics over this it would be a completely different song and I don't think anyone would have noticed it was the tune to "Gone Away".    It is magnificent and deserves its place on the album.  I can see why the Offspring don't do this all the time as they are after all a punk rock band, but it does show a different side to them that even after nearly 30 years as a band, they have never really showed before as far as I'm aware.

Although I think most of this album is great it does fall at the final hurdle for me in the closing track "Lullaby".  Here they have done a minute long track which uses the lyrics from "Let the bad times roll" in a kind of reprise fashion to bring the album to a close.  The problem is I think if you want to pull this off "Let the bad times roll" needs to start the album in order to work and to close the album like this.  And the way they distorted the vocals on the closer for me doesn't work at all and sounds horrible.  If you want to hear an opener/closer tracks work in the way they were attempting you should listen to Mason Hill's "Against the Wall" album.

But overall, despite that last hiccup this album has been both a refreshing and pleasant surprise.  To me this is The Offspring back to their best although they have only released 2 singles off this album so far. There are plenty more tracks which could make it as singles too which only shows the strength and depth of this album.  They have experimented a bit too with a cover, pianos and brass and all really work well. Let's hope it's not 9 years till the next instalment.