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After the disappointing sales of "Conspiracy of One," the Offspring were on hiatus for a good 3 years before releasing "Splinter"... in the meantime, longtime drummer Ron Welty left the group to focus on alternative projects (it's said he left due to disagreements with other members who were now too focused on a commercial end). From this album, longtime fans expected a return almost to the roots, given the promises of frontman Dexter Holland during the production.... What came out of it?
It was October 2003 when the enigmatic first single "Hit that" was released on the radio. Electronic sounds, keyboards, and decidedly vague lyrics... with this song, the Offspring wanted to experiment with electronic music, a genre that absolutely does not suit their musical path that began in the basements of Orange County where they gave birth to their (at least initially) raw, "dirty" and out-of-tune punk... (great masters were Social Distortion, their so-called "neighbors"...). However, this album has some surprises and perhaps Dexter kept some promises... indeed, following the initial uselessness of "neocon", an embarrassing intro made with stadium chants, the album officially opens with the fast and splendid "The noose", a great piece in their perfect style that perfectly paves the way for the next track "Long way home", which is also well done and well composed with a very catchy riff. Skipping the dreadful "Hit that", there comes "Race against myself", a track that recalls the rock vein of the Offspring that started in the previous album with "Denial Revisited".... despite the not bad lyrics, the piece doesn't fully convince and leaves a bit of a void, almost to the point of boring and making one skip to the next track. At number 6, we have "get around you", the second single (actually never released or promoted)... but the track is powerful, loaded with energy... something that calls back to the punk rock of Pennywise (probably due to the participation of the frontman in the track's backing vocals)... the ska experiment found on track 7 I would say is not well executed. Already from the title "The worst hangover ever=the worst hangover ever" the group shows they've completely run out of the inspiration from the times of "Smash" and "Ixnay on the Hombre," their two absolute masterpieces.
But here the album rises in level thanks to tracks like "Never gonna find me" and "Lightning'rod", particularly the latter, which is perhaps the most beautiful piece on the album both in terms of music and lyrics. We return to decidedly "pop" atmospheres with "Spare me the details" (third supposed single without a video clip), which deals with easy topics like betrayal, supported by light-hearted music and singing that doesn't even seem like Dexter's so particular voice. A piece not worthy of the Offspring... offensive toward their original genre and decidedly "commercial." "Da hui" is practically the last piece of the album.... a very tight song... fast and rather punk, recalling Dexter and Noodles' (longtime guitarist) passion for surfing. The album closes with the pointless "When you're in prison", an experiment on a '30s style base with "modified" vocals. A filler piece that makes no sense. Overall, "Splinter" proves to be a mediocre album with some very good tracks and others decidedly to be deleted from the Offspring's repertoire. It must be said that after 3 years of waiting and given the disappointments of the previous album, one expected a bit more from the group in both quality of the pieces and quantity of songs.
Doubts remain that the Offspring no longer have much to say given the last two albums not in line with the previous ones. "Splinter" remains somewhat a meteorite in the Offspring's discography, also given the poor sales obtained.. it is still worth listening to if you are a fan of theirs. But don't do it if you're looking to discover something new.. it's hoped that the Offspring will surprise us with the next album.. otherwise, I strongly advise them to close the curtains.. and not ruin too much of their career.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Neocon (01:08)
We are strong
We are right
We won't be pushed aside
We'll go on
We will fight
We will not compromise
We will never lose to you
We will never lose to you
We will never lose to you
We will never lose to you
02 The Noose (03:20)
(Well our) souls are all mistaken in the same misguided way
We all end up forsaken, we're just choosing our own way
The future now incinerates before our very eyes
And leaves us with emptiness of no more tries
(Well our) visions of glory have spiraled down the drain
The best of our intentions come crashing down in flames
The depths of our despair we are unable to contain
It's shallow living
The noose is falling
And all my friends are crawling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
A truth appalling
Our mak'r comes a calling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
Well the tracers from yesteryear are burning in the dust
Your bruises are reminders of naivete and trust
You're only feeling stronger cause your body's getting numb
Now I lay you down
Put the coins in your eyes
And blow the candles out
[x2]
The noose is falling
And all my friends are crawling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
A truth appalling
Our mak'r comes a calling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
No more!
No more!
Nothing!
No more!
No more!
Ever!
No!
More!
[x2]
The noose is falling
And all my friends are crawling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
A truth appalling
Our mak'r comes a calling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising
The noose is falling
And all my friends are crawling
The noose is falling
And enemies are rising!
04 Hit That (02:51)
The winds of fortune
Don't blow the same
She had to get out
And make a change
She had a kid now
But much too young
That baby daddy's out having fun
He's saying
I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know
His baby momma
She ain't so slow
He's saying
I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know
I know you want to hit that
I know you want to hit that, hit that
All the world is gettin' with, I say
Consequences are a lot, but hey
That's the way
That's the way things go
What was a family
Is now a shell
We're raising kids now
Who raise themselves
Sex is a weapon
It's like a drug
It gets him right into that grave that he just dug
She's saying
I'm on the run
I'm chasing guys for fun
Her baby daddy
It ain't his only one
She's saying
I'm on the run
I'm chasing guys for fun
I know you want to hit that
I know you want to hit that, hit that
Everybody's gettin' with, I say
Consequences are a lot, but hey
That's the way
That's the way things go
Well it winds up
Broken up
Really such a shame
But why not
Take a chance
Everything's a game
And it don't stop
Hooking up
Nothing's gonna change
The more he's trying
The more he's buying
He says
I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know
His baby momma
Don't need to know
He's saying
I'm on a roll
With all the girls I know
I know you want to hit that
I know you want to hit that, hit that
All the world is gettin' with, I say
Consequences are a lot, but hey
That's the way
That's the way things go
06 (Can't Get My) Head Around You (02:16)
Deep inside your soul there's a hole you don't wanna see
Every single day what you say makes no sense to me
Even though I try I can't get my head around you
Somewhere in the night there's a light in front of me
Heaven up above with a shove, abandons me
Even though I try I fall in the river of you
You've managed to bring me down too
All your faking (Get Up, Get Up, Get Up, Get Up)
Shows you're aching (Get Up, Get Up, Get Up)
Every single day what you say makes no sense to me
Letting you inside, isn't right, don't mess with me
I never really know what's really going on inside you
I can't get my head around you
All your feeding (Get Up, Get Up, Get Up, Get Up)
Shows you're bleeding (Get Up, Get Up, Get Up)
Deep inside your soul there's a hole you don't wanna see
Covering it up like a cut with the likes of me
You know I've really tried, I can't do anymore about you
(Yeaaahh)
The cut's getting deeper
(Yeaaahh)
The hill's getting steeper
(Yeaaahh)
I guess I'll never know what's really going on inside you
I can't get my head around you
I can't get my head around you
I can't get my head around you
I can't get my head around you
09 Lightning Rod (03:22)
I am waiting on a mountaintop
For the moment that the sky will strike
My apologies are forever lost
Soon to ashes in a flash of light
Miles away from me
Hope is fading soon
Gone forever it's a waste of time
My intentions like a sweeter room
Only bring to me a fading light
Locked up forever inside
I look to the stars and ask why
Oh, if they could just teach my dark heart to feel
All I've saved (oh why)
Is thrown away
I am waning like a single bloom
Lost forever in the storm of life
My intentions like a sweeter room
Only bring to me a fading light
Locked up forever inside
I look to the stars and ask why
Oh if they could just show these wounds how to heal
Here I am (oh, why)
My last stand (oh, why)
And I know for all the rising and falling there's nothing to show
Throw me down, throw me down, throw me down...
It's been raining
And now I will pay
Woe has come to me
I am the lightning rod
I am waiting
On a mountaintop
Oh, above me
He will strike me
Locked up forever inside
I look to the stars and ask why
Oh if they could just teach my dark heart to feel
All I am (oh, why)
My last stand (oh, why)
And I know for all the rising and falling there's nothing to show
10 Spare Me the Details (03:26)
Spare Me The Details
My girlfriend, my dumb donut
Went up to a party just the other night
But three hours later and seven shots of yager
She was in the bedroom with another guy
And I don't really wanna know
So don't tell me anymore
And I really don't wanna hear
About your feet all up in the air
And well I'm not the one who acted like a hoe
Why must I be the one who has to know?
I'm not the one who messed up big time
So spare me the details if you don't mind
Now I can understand friends who wanna tell me
They think they're gonna help me, open up my eyes
But the play by play makes me wanna lose it
Everytime you do it man, it turns the knife
And I don't really wanna know
So don't tell me anymore
And I really don't wanna hear
About your feet all up in the air
And well I'm not the one who acted like a hoe
Why must I be the one who has to know?
I'm not the one who messed up big time
So spare me the details if you don't mind
Now I don't need to hear about the sounds they were makin'
Every time you can hear about how long it was takin'
Or how the walls they were shakin'
Now lying in bed wallowing in sorrow
Missin' the tommorow that we could of had
Running through my head, over and over
Things I never told her that just made me sad
And it drives me insane sittin with a vision
stuck with that image burned into my brain
And it feels so dumb that I could ever trust her
When someone else fucked her, then walked away
And I don't really wanna know
So don't tell me anymore
And I really don't wanna hear
About her feet all up in the air
And so I'm not the one who acted like a hoe
Why must I be the one who has to know?
I'm not the one who messed up big time
So spare me the details if you don't mind
Cuz I don't wanna know
Don't wanna know
(Spare me the details if you don't mind)
Don't wanna know
(Spare me the details if you don't mind)
Don't wanna know...
11 Da Hui (01:44)
I won't fuck with da Hui
I won't fuck with da Hui
I won't fuck with da Hui
Because da Hui will fuck with me
I won't take off on da Hui
I won't take off on da Hui
I won't take off on da Hui
Because da Hui will fuck with me
A haole with heart, that's all I'll ever be
'Cause I'm not a part of the North Shore society
Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me
Digging for scraps with the kooks in line!
I won't park next to da Hui
I won't park next to da Hui
I won't park next to da Hui
Because I don't really feel comfortable
A haole with heart, that's all I'll ever be
'Cause I'm not a part of the North Shore royalty
Stuck on the shoulder, I'm not complaining
Digging for scraps I'm a kook in line!
A haole with heart, that's all I'll ever be
'Cause I'm not a part of the North Shore society
Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me
Digging for scraps with the kooks in line!
Don't fuck with da Hui
Don't fuck with da Hui
Don't fuck with da Hui
Because da Hui will fuck with you!
12 When You're in Prison (02:32)
When you're in prison, don't turn the other way
Keep your back against the wall
When you're in prison, don't turn the other way
Do not bend at all
Oh don't pick up the soap, pick up the soap
It's bad for you
Oh don't pick up the soap, pick up the soap
Someone will be waiting there for you
When you're in prison be sure to stay awake
Always lie upon your back
When you're in prison be sure to stay awake
Keep you from attack
Oh don't be no one's bitch, be no one's bitch
It's bad for you
Oh don't be no one's bitch, be no one's bitch
They won't help you make it through.
When you're in prison, don't turn the other way
Follow what I say to do.
When you're in prison, don't turn the other way
You can make it through
You can make it through
You can make it through
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Other reviews
By Zimo_26
With 'Hit That' it falls low, a pop ballad with 80's style dance samples, a truly nauseating and overly sweet concoction.
'The Worst Hangover Ever' is the most emblematic song on the album, ironic and unassuming, breaking the album halfway through.
By Taurus
The days of "Smash" and "Ixnay On The Hombre" are over, the band has lost its appeal to many, yet there's something tasty cooking.
"Hit that" isn't that great, catchy as much as you want but somewhat trivial with keyboards and some electronic touches in the background.
