Ahhhhh, it’s time to relax, and you know what that means, a glass of wine, your favorite easy chair, and, of course, this compact disc playing and your home stereo… after all, music soothes even the savage beast.” Thus begins the third studio album by the SoCal punk superstars known as the Offspring. What follows is a whirlwind of frenetic, profane, and, above all, purely juvenile melodies that are a perfect snapshot of the 1990’s pop punk music scene.
The Offspring was founded by a couple of juvenile delinquents back in 1984, deep into the decline of the rage-filled punk music of the 1970s. The older punk rockers, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, or the Ramones, to name a few, were slowly dying out, and, as the radio was slowly playing less and less of their music, so was the genre itself. Little did the world know, but but by the mid-nineties, punk would’ve taken the world by storm, an era ushered in by such bands as Green Day, Nirvana, and, as it turns out, the Offspring.
By the time of the album’s release in 1994, the band had already released two previous records: Their self-titled debut in 1989, followed by Ignition, in 1992. Neither record had gained the band any real commercial success, and they were still almost exclusively known by the small Californian punk underground. Smash, following the explosion of Nirvana’s Nevermind in ’91, took the country by storm, the band following in the footsteps of Green Day and Nirvana before them, supplying a voice to the bored, disillusioned teens of the early nineties.
The album spawned not one, but three hit singles, “Come Out and Play”, “Gotta Get Away”, and, of course, the massively popular “Self Esteem”, all three of which can still be heard on the radio frequently to this day. “Come Out and Play”, an anthem of the juvenile delinquents who came out of the nineties in droves, featuring lead singer Dexter Holland’s signature high-pitched wail and a frenzied, almost Arabian base line that flows throughout the song, transporting the listener onto the streets of Los Angeles, on the run from the law. “Self Esteem” has held up the most of any song from the album, the story of a guy who just can’t help it but to be used, and is sick of his life walking all over him. It helps to demonstrate the remarkable range that the Offspring has, uncommon in punk bands. Unlike many of their other songs, it’s slow and melancholy, and—it is punk, after all— has just a subtle edge of abrasive rudeness.
Some other songs that particularly stand out: “Bad Habit,” is a rage-filled story from the perspective of a drive-by shooter: “Drivers are rude, such bad attitude, but when I show my peice, complaints cease.” Another great song is “What Happened to You,” an upbeat, jaunty melody, with Holland singing about those people so crazy dumb that you can’t help but wonder what happened that made them that way. The title track, “Smash,” (which also happens to be the closing track) is a biting, punky heavy-hitter about non conformity in the modern world. The song itself is only about three minutes long, followed by another three minutes of silence. However, there is a hidden track at the 9:00 mark, an Eastern inspired instrumental reprise of “Come Out and Play,” that, while only lasting a little under two minutes, is a fun closer to an album that’s really hits points all across the map.
Smash is an excellent album. It’s hits are catchy and fun. All the while, the band thing still manages to retain the punk edge while keeping some of the light, juvenile, Blink-182-ish humor that the Offspring pulls off so well. Buffered by the lighter songs, like “What Happened to You” and “Smash” and still kept grounded by the darker, heavier tracks such as “Killboy Powerhead” and “Genocide.” While the heavy electric guitar does get a bit tiresome at times, there are enough lighter tracks sprinkled in to keep the mood up. Smash provides listeners, be they misunderstood teenagers, adults trying to relive the nineties, or anyone who has ever felt done with the system, with a fun way to spend an hour and let off some steam. So set your music player to shuffle, plug in your headphones, close your eyes, and let Smash take you away to wild world of skate punk.
