Let The Bad Times Roll - The Offspring

I hope you all understand that I have to take a brief pause from review requests to discuss this. As my loyal readers should know by now, one of my favorite all-time bands is The Offspring, so I was so excited by the idea of discussing new music from the SoCal group on my blog. After listening to Let The Bad Times Roll 5 times since its midnight release, my excitement has dwindled a bit. Let's get into what happened.

This is their 10th studio album, with their 9th release being Days Go By from 2012. That's a gap of 9 years, which is insanity if you ask me. But the band has been busy, touring with a different shitty 90s pot-rock band every summer, getting a PhD, firing their bass player, filming and re-filming music videos without said bass player, etcetera etcetera. So after such a long wait, this new record had to be mind-blowing. And the sad truth of it is, the only thing mind-blowing about it, is how mind-blowingly mediocre it is.

It opens with "This Is Not Utopia," which is in every conceivable way a rip-off of other punk legends Bad Religion. Listen closely to the chorus of this song. The harmonic chants "The roots... the roots of America," is straight out of Greg Graffin's catalogue. Even the title of it is super reminiscent of BR. I should say that I don't hate this song, but it's not an Offspring song. And considering what Dexter said of the new album: "It sounds like our old shit!" I'm starting to think Dex has forgotten what their old shit sounded like.

From there we go into the title track. "Let The Bad Times Roll" is a celebratory punk anthem of the shitstorm that our country/world has become. Knowing what I do about the band members and their political views, it is more than safe to say this song is a political commentary on the Trump presidency. But here's the thing with that: he's not even the fucking president anymore. They waited so long, that their big politically-driven title track, and the theme of the whole album, is no longer relevant.

Scattered among the mostly forgettable filler songs are a couple gems, though. "Hassan Chop" isn't bad, minus the whispered lines. "We Never Have Sex Anymore" was leaked online some years ago now, and it resurfaced quietly as the albums 3rd sleeper single. Many fans hate it, but I actually have grown to love it. "The Opioid Diaries" and "Army Of One" are other notable tracks that almost resemble classic Offspring.

Also thrown into the track listing are "Coming For You," the first single (which was released literally 6 years ago) the unnecessary "Lullaby" serves as the album closer, following the piano rendition of "Gone Away," which is much better when seen live so you can forget how Dexter's voice just isn't cut out for ballads, and then there's the strange and completely out of place instrumental cover of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King," which comes right after "Never Have Sex..." so it is just a very confusing transition.

In conclusion, I have been excited for a new Offspring record for 9 years. But that is not what I got. What I got was a Bad Religion rip-off, a smattering of pop-punk borderline emo filler stuff, a couple unwanted covers, and 4 new Offspring songs. Between their last 3 studio releases, I really find myself believing that the band is struggling with a sort of identity crisis and their fans are suffering for it. Was it worth the wait? Nah. Will I still go see them live as many times as I can? For sure. 

Let The Bad Times Roll - The Offspring

4 - 16 - 2021

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 King

9. The Opioid Diaries

10. Hassan Chop

11. Gone Away

12. Lullaby

Favorite Track: Army Of One

Least Favorite Track: Lullaby