THE OFFSPRING - RISE AND FALL, RAGE AND GRACE

(AU magazine July 2008)

(COLUMBIA RECORDS)

Aging punks are the saddest sight in rock. The disenfranchised youth of yesteryear all grown up with a major attitude adjustment - it's enough to make emo kids weep. Well, listen up, because The Offspring were punk in the early 90s, but the ensuing decade plus means they look more like working stiffs with a cosy 401k than youth warriors with their eye on the punk prize. The Offspring's eighth record sees them heading down the lonely road as marched by Green Day before them. Stadium rock with a nosering never looked so conformist - or sounded so lame. From staccato opener 'Half-Truism' to pseudo-empathetic 'Kristy, Are You Doing OK?', the original pranksters are sounding more like the offspring of Def Leppard and Plain White Tees. This'll be their titular 'fall', then.