Splinter

12/12/2003 9:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

Who could have guessed prior to the success of 1994's "Come Out And Play," that the Offspring would become a virtual hit-making machine? Before that breakthrough hit, the Orange County-based quartet was just another indie punk band trying to make a name for itself while staying true to the game. Nearly a decade later and several years after it jumped the indie ranks of Epitaph for major label Columbia, the band attempts to continue to deliver the hits on its seventh album, Splinter, while retaining its punk roots, and the Offspring succeeds on both counts.

On the hit tip, the band scores with "Hit That," which landed in the top 10 of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart prior to the album's release. In this irresistible little number, the Offspring turn to a pre-G-funk cheesy organ riff much like the faux Middle Eastern guitar riff in "Come Out And Play" or the "give it to me baby" chant in "Pretty Fly For A White Guy." The result is another tale of domesticity gone wrong with girls and guys gone wild despite the consequences of unwanted children. Equally intoxicating is the horn-flavored ska number "The Worst Hangover Ever," in which frontman Dexter Holland once again shows his social consciousness—at least until next week. Another gem is "Spare Me The Details," notable for some tasty flamenco-style acoustic guitar riffs and Holland's use of the words "dumb donut" to describe a cheating girlfriend.

On the punk side, the band lets loose several tracks, including "The Noose" and "Da Hui." The latter is a tribute to a group of bad-ass North Shore surfers. As of that weren't enough, the Offspring closes Splinter with the pseudo old-time cautionary tale "When Your In Prison," which may very well earn the band a spot on Dr. Demento's playlist next to Aerosmith's "Big Ten Inch Record."