Days Go By

The Offspring are the same

Pop punk is already a separate category that is united with the malicious, mad and shaggy punk rock only by the common set of instruments, albeit in one case they are used properly and in the other they are not even tuned alright. You want to know how classic punk turned into pop, then ask The Offspring about it. What kind of punks are they after all? The band’s leader Dexter Holland plays guitar well and sings accordingly. Besides, he is forty six. What punk would have lived so long? However, putting aside hollow arguments on genre purity and musical inheritance, we have to admit whatever The Offspring play, they do it well and people do enjoy it. Then do be so surprised to discover the American ensemble’s new record Days Go By offers the same radio friendly, neat and polished rock with the whole selection of tricks and features you know The Offspring for. Except, maybe, the concept of the new cover. Instead of caricatures decorating the band’s memorable classic albums, this one has a rather dull and sad picture on it. In the end, days go by, and so do weeks, months and years…

The cover and the title of Days Go By don’t tell the whole story

Despite the mood dominating Days Go By folder, the album itself is not that gloomy. The Offspring sound so as if these songs were occasionally left out of Americana (1998) and only now their time has truly come. A very lively and hot beginning brought by The Future In Now, and Secrets From The Underground immediately crushes down all the fears for the quality and content of the fresh release. The signature choral choruses led by Dexter, unfading tempo and steady riffs, all of this is here, and those who were afraid the band would surrender to time are proved wrong. On the other hand, for all the speed and energetic voices, the sound did become milder. The first impression of this kind comes with the title song Days Go By having nothing to do with punk rock. The electronic intro to Turning Into You delicately reminds you that the record, though by The Offspring, was made in 2012, the time of music compromises. After the upbeat Hurting As One, the band goes wild… The trio of Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Truck), All I Have Left Is You, and OC Guns is a tough test for fans of the old The Offspring for the flexibility of their tastes. You have all kinds of experiments here for progressively thinking people, from hip hop choruses and key-led verses to electronic beats.

Stuck in youth

In fact, The Offspring know when to stop, and after some risky deviations from their format, they come back on the old track in the second half of Days Go By. Melodic guitar intros, aggressive drums and emotional vocals drive each of the four last songs on the album, which must leave all listeners in good mood. Of these tracks, one is worth mentioning. This is a remake of the old song Dirty Magic that has a very darkish and brooding feel. Truth is it will be hard to find an extra track on Days Go By. Unless you are a hardcore fan of classic punk rock (and even the oldest albums by The Offspring hardly qualify for that), you will appreciate the variety presented on the record. Even the softest and mildest songs of Days Go By do have the distinct taste of The Offspring. They are filled with honesty, directness and even some kind of audacity of a youth spirit that the ensemble manages to preserve up to this very day. Undermining all skeptical thoughts shared by most listeners and critics, The Offspring have released a very nice record that is a true entertainment.