The Offspring
Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace

THE REVIEW

After the mediocre Splinter, the quartet from O.C. returns with "Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace". To be honest, one could say they are in decline. This latest work isn't bad at all but presents formulas that have been tried and retried, at times inspired by the duo "speed/melody" like in the great hits of the past ("All I Want", "The Kids Aren't Alright) and at times seems to draw (too much) inspiration from works by Green Day, Coldplay, and others.

Going into detail, one could say that the album doesn't have that pure punk rock spirit like the times of "Smash", to be clear, but it's a much more 'pop-oriented' CD. Good tracks like "Half - Truism" and the first single "Hammerhead" seem among the few to 'smell new'. Already at the second track of the album "Trust In You", "All I Want" inevitably comes to mind again, even the titles seem cacophonously similar, the melodies are much more so, especially the chorus which perhaps has the only difference of being lowered by a couple of notes. The track that seems to be the most successful for entering the charts is "You Gonna Go Far, Kid," in my opinion, the best track of the album. Alas, it's part of the so-called 'sampled' tracks but is decidedly well-composed, mixing a pop-rock base with a memorable chorus already after a couple of listens, a bit like in the days of "The Kids Aren't Alright" (you know what I mean...).
Not bad "A Not Like Me," a lively piece and also well written, with second and third background vocals and a sprinkle of melancholy, just enough.

If the CD consisted only of the first five tracks, it would be an excellent CD, or rather EP. As one moves forward, it becomes apparent how ideas start to run out. The ballad "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" well-reviewed in the first review of the album written on Debaser, is practically a clone of "We Don't To Look Back Now", a track by Puddle Of Mudd from their latest album "Famous". Granted, we're talking about a cute little song and easy to sing, but the similarities are embarrassing.
Unfortunately, the saga of 'copying' is not over yet. "Nothingtown" has an intro identical to the famous "Want You Bad" but can pass. "Fix You" I believe is Chris Martin's (Coldplay) very first version but then discarded and redone (Dexter Holland must have rummaged through Martin's trash and found the demo, at least the title could have been changed, a little ingenuity wouldn’t hurt). On the other hand, "Stuff Is Messed Up" is excellent here; I have nothing to say, the track is well-played and better sung, worthy of the best Offspring, perhaps the only positive note of the second part of the CD, while "Rise And Fall" seems so similar to "American Idiot" by Green Day that even a deaf person would notice the plagiarism. In good faith, I want to confirm the suggestion proposed by 'Zimo_26' in his review, namely that antipathy between the groups may have led Dexter and company to such a result. In bad faith, I say that the Offspring, in general, didn’t have many ideas during the writing of the album. I confirm that the band is, in my opinion, declining. However, as a final effort, this "Rise Fall Rage Grace" was rather weak. Not to be dismissed, three stars and everyone's happy, but don’t be surprised if during the listening you experience sensational flashbacks that could also serve to remember the old past '90s and why not even the 2006 World Cup...could it be a hypnosis-CD?