Record review: The Offspring, "Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace"

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By L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / GZO

2½ stars

The Offspring gets the Bob Rock treatment and proves that there’s little distance between punk and ponderous. Shiny, layered and “heavy,” producer Rock’s sheen is unabashedly commercial, a slickly familiar mix that’s perfect for rock radio airplay but less than compelling in terms of punk rock rawness.

Singer Dexter Holland, bassist Greg K and guitarist Noodles can still craft catchy punk tunes, e.g. “Trust in You.” But songs such as “A Lot Like Me” just sound generic. Even when Dexter’s apologizing to an old girlfriend in “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” and revisiting the rock gotta-get-out-of-this-place theme on “Nothingtown,” things are just a little too mainstream sounding for the old-school punkers to be convincing.