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Splinter

The Offspring - Splinter Audio CD

A fair review of the The Offspring "Splinter" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Offspring reviews here, or go back to the The Offspring tabs.

Band: The Offspring
Title: Splinter
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-12-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Neocon 2: The Noose 3: Long Way Home 4: Hit That 5: Race Against Myself 6: (Can't Get My) Head Around You 7: The Worst Hangover Ever 8: Never Gonna Find Me 9: Lightning Rod 10: Spare Me the Details 11: Da Hui 12: When You're in Prison

Don't waste your money

Smash is classic, Ixnay on the Hombre is great, and their self-titled album and Ignition (both released prior to Smash) are raw, gritty and in your face. Just knowing that The Offspring are capable of so much more makes this album that much more horrible. Even Americana had its moments. Americana actually get a bad rep as it was very MTV friendly, but it featured some of the band's best songs ("Have You Ever", "Starring At the Sun", "The Kids Aren't Alright", "End of The Line" and "Americana").

I almost forgot about Conspiracy of One because it was so bland but Splinter is just awful! Only 4 or 5 songs on this album are any good. Those songs aren't even that great, but the rest is totally unlistenable.

I'll rank the songs from best to worst. . .

"The Noose" is by far the best track on the album. It sounds like a mix of Ixnay era and "Have You Ever" from Americana. Worth a download!

The two singles from the album "Hit That" and "(Can't get my) Head around You" are good, but become boring and disposable after a few listens.

"Race Against Myself" is pretty decent, but again nothing special.

"Long Way Home" is catchy

"Never Gonna Find me" and "Lightning Rod" are just painful to listen to. "Break AWAY (Pause) Run (pause) Down Inside (pause) I got to". . . so lame

Oh but just when you think it can't get worst, we have "Da Hui" and "Spare me the detials. " Two songs that define the word---Filler. D Hui curses over and over again just for the sake of try to sound cool, you know kind of like a 7 year old who just learned a dirty word. Both songs were clearly written in about 15 mins.

"The Worst Hangover Ever" is quite possibly the worst, most unnesicary song ever written. By any band. Ever!

If I neglected to mention one or two songs, its because they were that forgettable.

That being said, Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace, Offspring's newest album is 100 times better than Splinter. Rise & Fall isn't the best Offspring album by far, but its something original. They take alot of risks on that album and it truly sounds like nothing they ever made before. To me Splinter was just disposable, I'd call it pop-rock, but that would imply the songs were bubblegum and at least catchy. .

Splinter-ed
However the bumps in the road are more like 12ft sinkholes and the album never seems to recover from it. This album really starts out strong and has a lot of high points along the way. There are at least four songs on here that should never have been released, and about three songs that just sound like a burned out bunch of guys trying to pinch-it-off and flush it before it starts to stink. Not their best work to date.

1. Neocon 6/10: Cool intro, wish it led into something more, seems like an unfinished thought.

2. The Noose 9/10: A return to their classic form, really great tune. Killer hook + verse, lyrics are on point, song has a great flow. Bang your head.

3. Long Way Home 7/10: Really a great track, I just wish the lyrics went somewhere. Fun to listen to. Dexter's voice sounds a bit strained in the verses and chorus.

4. Hit That 4/10: Did we really need another lame re-write of Pretty Fly for a White Guy? Just let it die already. I respect the lyrics I just wish it had something to back it up.

5. Race Against Myself 9/10: One of the better tracks on the album, a bit of a navel gazer but solid over-all. It really finds itself once it gets into the chorus.

6. Can't Get my Head Around You 10/10: Has a "Want You Bad" sort of vibe but with all the punch of the Americana production. Once again however I wish the lyrics were a bit more substantial.

7. Worst Hangover Ever 3/10: Worst song about a hangover ever. I want to have fun and listen but it's just awful.

8. Never Gonna Find Me 6/10: This track sounds just like tracks #5 & #6 mixed together. Once again the lyrics just drain the fun from the song. There is this genius breakdown at 1:33 that saves the song. If the whole song would have sounded like the 23 second breakdown it would have been a 10/10.

9. Lighting Rod 10/10: Finally another track on the album that is well written. Really fantastic track, I hear a lot of growth in it, one of the few tracks on the album that is able to bridge their classic sound along with their new direction.

10. Spare Me The Details 2/10: I guess this was meant to be the "Why Don't You Get a Job" track for this disc. The lyrics fall flat on their face as soon as Dexter opens his mouth. I would think someone who cares about them would have had the decency to never release this track.

11. Da Hui 8/10: It's fun, but completely mindless. Not the track I would want to end an album on, kind of weak.

12. When Your In Prison 0/10: WTF, this must be the kind of crap you put on your album if you no longer care about having a career. The Offspring for years have always had a killer last track that really ended their albums on a high note, clearly this album didn't have enough high notes to even warrent any kind of an ending.

From the intro to the first song you really get the impression that the band is back and ready to have a go at it, two middle fingers in the air and a blazing trail of guitar riffs to build on. But by the fourth track you start to wonder why they are still making music, it just seems like their inspiration has packed up and left the building. I think they really used a lot of elbow grease in the production but this is one turd they won't be able to polish.
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50 steps down
im gonna sum it up in 1 word "it sucked" and why? because the offspring have been a band for 20 years, and in thoes 20 years, we have seen some of the best work, toching lyrics, and lyrics about everyday life. i'll tell everyone about this album. and each album (from self titled, to conspiracy of one) we have gotten about 13-15 songs on each and every album. but now we get this crap, 10 songs (neocon, and when your in prison dont count) and with only 4 good songs on it (the noose, never gonna find me, lightning rod, and da hui)

the other songs (long way home, hit that, race againset myself, spare me the details, the worst hang over ever, and when your in prison) were all songs that hurt the album. im not saying they were bad songs, but its not somthing thats not appropriate, and have no meaning to them at all.

Splinter is just okay.
Everything they had done up to this point was at least good to great. I've been a fan of this band since I heard Smash. With this release I just dont feel it as much as with the others. It has some pretty good tracks but I find myself getting sick of them a little too fast. The cd isn't horrible but it isn't great either. It's just an average release. This is the Offspring's first release that I had been slightly disappointed with. Not only do you get sick of the singles quickly but the songs don't have the best lyrics either. I also agree with what other people were saying about about the album. It does have somewhat of an annoying immaturity to it. "Da Hui" espeically is a track that I despise and "The Worst Hangover Ever" isn't a bad sounding track, the lyrics are just silly. Another problem I found with the album is that It just seems to short. The first track doesn't even feel like an actual track and the last two can barely even be considered songs. It's still okay though and probably worth checking out if you love the band as I do. My favorite tracks from the album are "Hit That", "Race Against Myself", "(Can't Get My) Head Around You", and "Lightning Rod". Here's all of my ratings. . .

1. Neocon - 8/10
2. The Noose - 8/10
3. Long Way Home - 8/10
4. Hit That - 9. 5/10
5. Race Against Myself - 10/10
6. (Can't Get My) Head Around You - 10/10
7. The Worst Hangover Ever - 7/10
8. Never Gonna Find Me - 8/10
9. Lightning Rod - 9. 5/10
10. Spare Me the Details - 8. 5/10
11. Da Hui - 2/10
12. When You're in Prison - 6/10

Overall: 78% C+

If you're going to get this and have no prior experience with this band other than the few radio tracks from this album you heard you might end up being disappointed. If your a long time fan of the band you will probably be disappointed with this as well but not as bad as others.

One of my favourites
After listening to Ixnay and Americana in my home gym for 3 months straight, I got this CD, mostly for "Da Hui". I can't believe how many people are bummed with this CD! It shows that the group has matured and has learned from their mistakes. (I saw the video on their website and liked it straight away. ) Although I was initially disappointed in the length, I got over it and I like every song on this disc.

Things get off to a rollicking start with "Neocon". The musical imagery suggests the Zanarkand blitzball stadium, all lit up at night, with the cheering crowd, and the band at the center of it all. "The Noose" shows some older colour that Offspring is known for, while keeping up with the times (after all, they MUST adapt with the changing taste of the public or they will be gone). I found "Worst Hangover" to be amusing, but I can imagine being annoyed upon repitition of it. Perhaps they were making fun of ska music? "Lightning Rod" (very reminiscent of "Dammit I changed again" but better) is quite fast and entertaining, and definitely imaginative. "Spare Me the Details" is quite goofy but cute. Why does Dexter keep dating these loser girls that just mess with him??
I was disappointed to not hear the hula record preceding "Da Hui", but when I realized that it was just for the video, I managed to accept it as is. "When you're in prison" is quite funny. I own a lot of gramophone recordings, and this sounds just like one, but Dexter's Californian accent gives away that something isn't quite right with the age of the recording.
But that's all a matter of sheer interest! I just wonder what the heck Dexter was thinking when he authored this song.
In conclusion, it's a good disc, although a bit too short. But what I don't see people acknowledging in their reviews is this: Pop it into the disk drive of your computer and watch what happens. You get Offspring wallpaper, a tour of their studio for Splinter, and the "Da Hui" video. This explains the 30 minute disc. According to their website, Offspring are presently recording a new disc. I hope it's good, ya?.

You can see a complete list of all The Offspring discography, or go back to the The Offspring tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.