The Offspring
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

THE REVIEW

Rise and fall, rage and grace.

 10 years have passed since the "best seller" Americana, and nearly 5 years since their last work, Splinter. Now the Offspring have returned with this Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. I swear, I didn't know what to expect from this album and when you listen to the Offspring, you know what you're referring to when you wonder what songs they'll produce, because you can be horrified by episodes like "The Worst Hangover Ever" or thrilled by "The Kids Aren't Alright". So, I insert the CD into the player and wait.

"Half-Truism" is the perfect start; by the second listen, you're shouting it at the top of your lungs, even my neighbor knows it by heart.

What immediately stands out to the "ear" is that in this CD the Offspring abandon the "Californian punk" style that made them famous in many songs, in favor of more structured tracks with constant changes of rhythm. A clear example is the testosterone-packed single"Hammerhead", with a beautiful lyric about firearms in America and an unexpected ending. There is a continuous shift from "rage" to "grace," moving from the classic charged track "Trust in You" to the 2008's Gone Away "A Lot Like Me", truly beautiful. Also worth mentioning is the strange "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" with a super catchy chorus, one of the best of the batch. The first part of the CD is therefore extremely powerful and convincing. Then the surprises start.

Punctual as a speed camera flash, here comes the first acoustic ballad, "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?". What saves this song from oblivion is the beautiful lyric about a girl who has suffered sexual violence. Commercial and very "radio friendly," nothing to say. This song introduces us to the "grace" of the album, represented by catchy and fast pieces and tearjerker ballads. The best piece of the second part is "Stuff Is Messed Up", very fast, punchy, and hard enough.

In summary, it's nice to see the Offspring trying to "experiment" and not stay anchored to a single genre. I imagine Bob Rock sitting at a table discussing the album's tracklist with Dexter Holland, imagining making everyone happy.

Tracks that are truly indigestible are "Fix You", slow and frankly useless piece, and the concluding "Rise and Fall", practically a clone of "American Idiot" with inverted chords (I hope it's just a little Dexter joke on the Green Day, given their continuous rivalry...).

Rise and fall, rage and grace was said, never was a title more fitting. Their best since Conspiracy of One.