 ixnay on the hombre
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 The Offspring You have to love a band that starts off with a circus barker giving a "Disclaimer" which warns, "this album contains explicit depictions of things which are real. These real things are commonly known as life." For the next dozen songs, The Offspring continue down a path familiar to those who bought 1994's Smash or heard its hit hard rock singles "Come Out And Play" and "Self Esteem." Frenetic drum-bashing, rhythmic guitar pounding and staccato belted vocals are The Offspring's stock and trade. They do try out a few minor textural changes on Ixnay On The Hombre, notably some "south of the border" melody flourishes. For example, on "Mota," which finds the buzzsaw guitars mirroring the beat of the drums, I kept expecting them to shout "Tequila." If this were the '80s, The Offspring would simply be called a metal band, but these days, you can refer to them as high octane punky alternative rock. Call it what you will, but on "Me & My Old Lady," a Gen X love song whose main chorus repeats, "she ain't no ball & chain," the band sounds like a cross between Faster Pussycat and Jane's Addiction. That same ‘80s hard rock edge is obvious on the big stadium chorus of "Gone Away," which decries "And it feels like heaven is so far away...now that youve gone away." There's even a hint of early U2 guitar and vocal in "Gone Away"'s verse structure. Nicking a riff or sound from other bands comes natural to The Offspring; in "I Choose," the boys pull together another Jane's Addiction "Been Caught Stealing"-style rhythm fest, with scads of percussion and a funky guitar line that's miles away from "Self Esteem." Utilizing some of the sarcasm that the opening "Disclaimer" warns about, "Cool To Hate" runs through a litany of things to hate atop a chugging cliche guitar riff ("being positive's so uncool"). Midway through the album a familiar voice turns up: the "high-sounding hepcat" monologuist from Smash introduces the "Intermission," a cheesy, instrumental horn run-through of "Tea For Two." He's not the only familar face on Ixnay. "Change The World" takes the uncredited instrumental track that ends Smash and turns it into a full-blown production. And "Don't Pick It Up" reads like a funkier, slower version of "Smash It Up" from the Batman Forever soundtrack. Its call-response verses and faux reggae toast break make it one of the CD's most fun listens. There's not a breakout song like Smash's "Come Out and Play" (better known by its tagline of "Keep ‘em separated") on Ixnay, but song for song, this one's the better album. If you're tired of the last Green Day album and despondent of whiny Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains songs, this is the pumped up rockfest you've been waiting for. Occasionally mindless and often wickedly funny, The Offspring know how to rock. Fast. By John Everson, from Pop Stops Music Reviews - The Star Newspapers - March 13, 1997 |
