The Offspring – Let The Bad Times Roll (Album Review)
The Offspring – Let The Bad Times Roll
Released: April 16, 2021
The Offspring Line up:
Dexter Holland | Guitar & Vocals
Noodles | Guitar
Todd Morse | Bass
Pete Parada | Drums
The Offspring online:
Going nearly a decade without new material can often spell death for a band, with any new activity after such a long period being touted as a ’reunion’, ‘comeback’ or worse, being scoffed at as a cash grab by cynical parts of a fanbase.
But for So-Cal punks The Offspring the eight-year break since their last album Days Go By was simply just the band taking their time to write new songs. Add to that frontman Dexter Holland completing his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, a split with original bassist Greg K, and a few tours over the years (including their last Australian run in 2018 performing Smash in full) and it is easy to let life get away from you. The resulting album Let The Bad Times Roll, however, is worth the wait, featuring all the swagger and attitude that elevated The Offspring to legendary status in punk rock.
Working with mega producer Bob Rock, Let The Bad Times Roll is twelve tracks that are drenched with shades of their previous offerings, while offering a modern rock sound that’s seen the title track ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’ elevated to high rotation on rock radio with its commercial polish, while keeping the attitude of the band intact.
That probably also means that, depending on your favourite shade of The Offspring, you will enjoy different parts of this album more than others. If you enjoy the polished songwriting of Days Go By or Conspiracy Of One you’ll love tracks like ‘Behind Your Walls,’ ‘Army of One’ and ‘Breaking These Bones.’
If you wore out Ixnay On the Hombre or Smash on cassette you’ll love the brashness of ‘We Never Have Sex Anymore,’ the punk thrash of ‘The Opioid Diaries,’ and the lightning fast ‘Hassan Chop.’ Even the instrumental ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain’ sounds a bit like a throwback to ‘Intermission.’
‘Gone Away Requiem’ commits the piano version of ‘Gone Away’ that has graced The Offspring’s setlist in recent years to tape, taking the song to a more stripped-back place that is rather moving. Wrapping up with ‘Lullaby,’ which is more of a refrain of the title track, it is clear the band wanted to spend some time with these tracks and polish them. Doing so has crafted an album that puts The Offspring deservedly back in the spotlight, and makes Let The Bad Times Roll one of the punk world’s best releases of the year so far.
The Offspring – Let The Bad Times Roll tracklisting
1. This Is Not Utopia
2. Let The Bad Times Roll
3. Behind Your Walls
4. Army Of One
5. Breaking These Bones
6. Coming For You
7. We Never Have Sex Anymore
8. In The Hall Of The Mountain
9. The Opioid Diaries
10. Hassan Chop
11. Gone Away Requiem
12. Lullaby
Rating: 9/10
Let The Bad Times Roll is Out April 16 via Concord Records. Pre-Order here
Review By – Simon Valentine (@SimonValentine1)
This is a very good album, one of the best punk record from last 10 years!!! All new songs is great, but very bad, this album so short(((