The Offspring - US Punks Make Major Label Debut

Act: The Offspring
Project: Album
Songwriters: Dexter Holland
Label: Columbia
Producer: Dave Jerden
Released: February 3

At the last count, Smash, the fourth album from Californian punks The Offspring, had sold more than 8m units. A towering achievement on any level and one that is even more impressive considering the success came on a US independent, Epitaph, after the band had been together for a decade.

After touring the world for more than a year, The Offspring sensibly took time out to fashion what they feel is an even better follow-up. The trickily titled Ixnay On The Hombre is packed with runaway songs, typically rousing choruses and soaring guitars, all wrapped in a crystal-clear production by Dave Jerden (who has also worked with Alice In Chains, Jane's Addiction).

Their virtues are showcased in All I Want, the current single from the album, although the track's sprinting pace will surprise those who only know the band via their two UK hits Self Esteem and Come Out And Play. Holland says, "We thought it would be cool to do a really fast song as a first single because it's more representative of the band. Come Out And Play and Self Esteem happened to be slow songs on a fast record, which radio went straight for, but at least people know there's more than one side to us."

Other tracks from the album display the band's ability to slip through the gears at will in songs like Gone Away, Me And My Old Lady and the ironic opener Disclaimer, with its spoken word vocal from former punk guru and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra.

However, despite their success with Epitaph, The Offspring have split with the label and Ixnay On The Hombre is the first album in a long-term deal with Columbia. There is one proviso, though: part of their negotiated separation means the LP will be released in the larger European territories (including the UK, Germany and France) by the Dutch-based Epitaph Europe.

Back in 1995, frontman Dexter Holland claimed Offspring would only change labels if their records weren't reaching the shops, but a disagreement over personal and business terms with Epitaph founder Brett Gurewitz led to a parting of the ways. "We signed for less money and more albums to get out of the deal," Holland says. "We could have left Epitaph a long time ago. I can't think of another band that had a record break through like that and stayed - you always get picked up by a major, which buys you out."

"Epitaph actually wanted to sell the Smash album on and we talked them out of it," adds bassist Greg K. Holland says, "Brett got calls from all these major bigwigs - one said, 'we can sell 2m of this thing!' So it was rewarding to stay." Epitaph Europe can still do very well with its share of Ixnay On The Hombre. "I think it was important for Brett to hang on to this record in Europe because he wanted to get the European side of the label going as it's still fairly new," says Holland. "That's OK with us. Epitaph has always done a great job."

Having talked Rancid out of signing to Epic, it seems ironic that The Offspring have ended up with Sony. But Holland insists the move doesn't represent some sort of sell-out. "We don't see Columbia as authority. We saw how Rage Against The Machine and Pearl Jam had dictated their own deals there, so the vibe was right," he says.

Neither does Holland feel that their punk credentials, seemingly integral to their success, are at risk. "The same people who hate us would have hated us anyway, because what's important to them was how popular a band is and that's what makes them not like it," he says. "Those people have already abandoned us and the fans we have left are more into the music."

Going by the sales of Smash, there are plenty of people still waiting for the new album.

By Martin Aston, from Dotmusic Talent - January 27, 1997