This is the album that, after their earlier release in 1994 that was Smash, got most of the attention from the Californian Punk band The Offspring. It actually seemingly has had more respect and radio play in the long run, with some of the songs that were singles on it being key staples for Rock radio for years on end. It sold nearly 200,000 copies within the first week of release in the USA alone, and the group did achieve some commercial success from this point on, even with their earlier notable releases that were critically well-received. Dexter Holland, singer-songwriter and guitarist, aimed to write an album that wasn’t a radical change from previous albums and instead decided to write a modern critique of USA society. This album, therefore needs to be listened to and written about, although it received mixed reviews by critics over the long run. Let’s jump in and hear it.

Welcome is a fine voiceover intro that lasts for nine seconds. No matter if you skip tracks or not, do not go without hearing this track, especially on the first listen. Very cool.

Have You Ever begins with some crashing drumming and power chords, speeding up and launching into a great song from the start. It sounds excellent and is a definite step up on the music that The Offspring made before. This is a deep critique of life in the 1990s USA, and despite its melancholy, it works incredibly well. There has been more dark and depressing music than this out there. This is aimed at angsty teenagers, but those with depressive tendencies will listen to this and love it as well. Nonetheless, this is a great and concise beginning to an album that has fared well historically. Both Grunge and Britpop were dead by this point, and blink-182 were yet to become huge. These guys were in the right place at the right time. Instead of a guitar solo, an Industrial sounding percussion piece is present here. It sounds brilliant, all the same. This is followed by heavy guitars and launches into a bass guitar and percussion piece. Really sweet and excellent to listen to. Some awesome singing and lyricism from Dexter Holland is here. A fantastic tune, The Offspring made fantastic music on this song. An excellent listen about society’s ills. Well done.

Staring At The Sun begins with some loose cymbals, palm-muted guitars, and great singing. Noodles is one awesome lead guitarist on this song, followed up by Greg K. on bass guitar and Ron Welty on drums. This is a more upbeat and melodic song that sounds awesome and furiously brilliant. This launches into a Hardcore Punk-styled sped-up section that sounds energetic and youthful. Very American, but gloriously so. This is awesome and catchy musically, and the music throughout is quality over quantity. The Offspring’s moment of fame and glory had come with this album and with great songs and reasoning with it. Clever music, this sounds awesome and great. Worth hearing.

Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) is one of the gems of this album. First off, before listening to it, this is a parody song. It begins with some German and some cheesy and embarrassing singing, but intentionally so. This quickly launches into a #1 hit at the time with loud guitar riffs and a very upbeat feel to it. It encapsulates a story about a total loser in the USA. A fantastic listen, provided that you can have a laugh with it. Nonetheless the line, “The world needs wannabes!” is probably true. This will probably have you laughing along to the lyrical material here. Although the USA is increasingly divided and serious today, in 1998, this was a soundtrack for youth who didn’t take life so seriously back then. There are some neat musical touches throughout, but even so, this song is a total joke in the best way possible. An excellent listen, and one of the key tracks from this album. Very, very awesome music to hear. A good laugh for three minutes of listening.

The Kids Aren’t Alright is much more brutally serious, with a song title referencing back to The Who’s 1960s hit The Kids Are Alright. It has some dark guitar riffing and sounds much more intense than the songs before it. Nonetheless, this is a moving tune and one of the most popular songs by The Offspring. It details the world turning upside down as one gets older. Nonetheless, this is a great song by The Offspring that sounds moving and solid to this day. Sadly, innocence is often lost as one reaches adulthood. Despite that, this is a direct and powerful tune that is worth hearing in a sober mood. Great listening all the same, it proves Dexter Holland was indeed, writing a post-Orwellian critique of modern USA society. It sounds awesome, all the same. Musically coherent and consistent throughout as well. Worth hearing.

Feelings begins with some super fast-paced guitar riffing and launches into a Hardcore Punk-styled song that is a bit less impressive, but nonetheless listenable. The music is intense and it is about hating others who really annoy one. All the same, this is a very good listen, but very brutal. This is about being psychotic and full of anger towards others. It continues the general album theme of critiquing others in modern USA. A fast and furious set of guitar playing by Noodles is here, and this is a good song, even if it is a noticeable step down in the overall quality of music. It slows right down at the end, before reaching a brutal conclusion. A good and interesting listening experience.

She’s Got Issues is a more mid-tempo listening experience that is upbeat. It sounds better than the previous song and is an interesting listen with some hilarious lyrics about a lady that a guy doesn’t understand. The singing and playing are full of anger and distress in this situation. This is the sort of music that American Pie fans will love. A really awesome and direct song, it sounds like something fairly relatable, provided that you are a male who has an ex-girlfriend like this. A bitter yet funny song about a lady who drives one insane. Awesome music, with some direct lyrical references to sexual activity, this would not go down well at all today in the world of Taylor Swift and similar postmodern artists who would never mention such out there lyricism from a male perspective. Still, a great song to listen to. Punchy and powerful listening throughout. Very direct and funny.

Walla Walla begins with a looped voice counting in, before launching into another very fast tune. This is hilarious, upbeat and funny throughout. It points out a failure of a friend in life who deserves what they get. Very funny, catchy and laugh out loud, which is welcome. The music is absolutely powerful and listenable. This song points out the stupidity of amateur criminals, be it breaking and entering, or just being an idiot in general. Shoplifters really should listen to this song and think twice about what they are doing in life. There is a key change towards the end, and this song is a very good and catchy listening experience. Dexter Holland definitely could write very good songs. A worthy listening experience.

The End Of The Line begins with some stop/start riffs and some good bass guitar riffing. This is a much more serious song that sounds powerful and is much more direct than some of the upbeat songs before it. Some good singing is present here, and although this tune is a bit whiney to be fair, it doesn’t sound hugely out of place. Lyrically, it is a bit lacking. There is a breakdown in the second half with some nicely mixed delayed guitars, and Dexter Holland is in total storytelling mode about people who disappoint in life. Regardless, some people in life do disappoint, and this song indicates the fear of death as well. Good to hear.

No Brakes begins with a recorded voice saying, “One moment, please” and launches into a fast and energetic song which is a more serious song but it has references to living life at a fast pace and being extreme. This is matched nicely with some loud, fast and powerful Punk Rock Music to match. Nonetheless, a very cool listen and although the material on this album is a little mixed, this still sounds very, very good. A short two-minute-long listening experience for those who live life in the fast lane. Good for what it is.

Why Don’t You Get A Job was one of the singles from this album, and it is aimed squarely at those who take advantage of others financially, be it on the welfare system or otherwise. It begins with some awesome singing, and metallic sounding drums and has acoustic guitars throughout. A very good and singalong tune, this is very direct about financial dependency. An awesome listen, and financial dependency is very common in most relationships. Nonetheless, if you have a partner doing so, play this to them at full volume. Some horns are present in this song as well. Laziness is not something to celebrate, and this song points that out. “I won’t pay, I won’t pay ya, no way, why don’t you get a job?” is the message here. A very, very good song that sounds great, to this day.

Americana begins with some powerful and punchy drumming, with some Black Flag-styled guitar riffs. This continues along nicely and sounds very awesome. Some brilliant harmonies are mixed in, and this song definitely comes alive. A great listen, which launches into a fast-paced song that describes the overall concept of the album, the place called Americana. It has some very direct profanities and sounds awesome. A good tune to listen to, this is a direct attack on stereotypical USA-based behaviour. A cool tune to listen to, and very 1998 in outlook and spirit. This is a great listen throughout and is energetic and awesome to hear. A key change is towards the end here, and this finishes after three minutes.

Pay The Man is an eight-minute-plus long piece towards the end of this album. It begins with some loose guitar riffs that sound Spanish-style, and this sounds a little eerie. Soon enough, this stops and drum beats follow. This is very quirky and has some interesting percussion and more guitar riffs thrown into the mix. Very odd, but The Offspring obviously had a bunch of cool ideas throughout their career. The unusual Spanish-styled guitar riffing continues on for some time, and this is very unusual listening. This seems to be filler, for the most part. At this point, you could probably skip if you want. It’s not unpleasant, just rather unnecessary. Eventually, heavy guitar riffs enter and this piece gets going well. It sounds oddly cool. Definitely oddball and out there. Some similarly odd musical-themed lyrics that are highly processed eventually enter, and this sounds like a deeply Psychedelic sort of musical listening experience. Very, very weird, and a bit unnecessary. Nonetheless, this is very Californian and different. It sounds like these guys were reading a bit of the infamous works of Dr. Timothy Leary here, as it is a bit unusual for The Offspring to make such a song. In the second half, this emerges into a loud and punchy song that makes a bit more musical sense to the listener. A good suspenseful tune that has differentiation and energy throughout. Very punchy sounding, this medley-based piece is quite different. Fortunately, The Offspring knew how to add the variety that is the spice of life to this album. An excellent piece of music, acoustic guitars are overdubbed whilst Dexter Holland screams: “Shut up! You talk too much!”. Eventually, this launches into some more punchy guitar riffs and continues jamming right to the end of it all. Good to hear, although this could have definitely been edited down somewhat.

Pretty Fly (Reprise) was originally a hidden track to conclude the album with but is now a primary song. It has strings and horns, with a parody of Classical Music at hand. Weird, very weird. Nonetheless, this album concludes here and just sounds plain weird. A bit different.

This is not perfect by any means, but it certainly is an impressive album. It is indeed, what it set out to be: a modern critique of American life in 1998. Although the album possibly could have benefitted from some gentle editing in retrospect, it is one of the defining moments by The Offspring and Punk Music in general. Should you hear this album? Do give it a go, its quirkiness and humour make this a fun listen, even if it is inconsistent at times.

Definitely wacky but worth listening to.

8/10