Ixnay on the Hombre - Offspring (The) (CD 1997)

With their eponymous breakthrough hit Smash, The Offspring immediately became one of the most legitimate front-runners of what would shortly become a burdensome trend: pop-punk. This left the band in the unenviable position of deciding what to do with their follow-up: risk alienating established fans or risk getting lost in a burgeoning crowd? Fortunately, The Offspring proved their staying power with Ixnay on the Hombre by finding an admirable middle ground. The album has its occasional weak spots, but for the most part they do an outstanding job of bringing new influences to bear on their sound without watering it down too much.

The album opens with "Disclaimer," which is not precisely a full-fledged song, but deserves mention for the honest simplicity of its sociopolitical statement:

"Laaaaaaaaadies and gentlemen, welcome to the disclaimer! That's right, the disclaimer! This American-as-apple-pie institution known as 'parental discretion' will CLEANSE any sense of sarcasm or innuendo from the lyrics which might actually make you THINK, and will also insult your intelligence at the same time! So protect your family! This album contains explicit depictions of things that are REAL! These REAL things are commonly known as LIFE! So if it sounds sarcastic, don't take it seriously. If it sounds dangerous, do not try this at home or at all. And if it offends you. . . just don't listen to it!"

From there, the album blasts into high gear with "The Meaning of Life," a high-octane punk track that offers a direct, forthright defense of individuality and independence: "Open wide and they'll shove in their meaning of life / Not for me, I'll do it on my own / Open wide and swallow their meaning of life / Can't make it work your way / Thanks but no thanks." The band shows off a pure punk blast on several occasions, including "All I Want," one of the CD's hit singles, which is a two-minute blast with lots of great background vocals and Dexter Holland just crying to be left alone. The album's closer, "Change the World," takes a bit of time to unfurl, but when it does so, it's a challenging blast against self-righteousness, with some tight, snappy beats: "You don't want to change the world like you say / In it for yourself, no one else / You're ready, saving yourself / You're gonna change the world."

But the things that make Ixnay a generally successful change of pace is that The Offspring manage to change gears so often without alienating the core elements of their sound. "Mota" hits a quite non-punk beat, and relentlessly mocks a washed-up druggie who's "laughing off his a*s at Three's Company" and getting ripped off with baggies of oregano. "I Choose" chronicles the folly of youth with a slightly off-color track that hit radio stations in a big way. The smash hit "Gone Away" is a surprisingly poignant tune about a dead lover, where Holland captures pain and loss quite capably. Another impressive track -- one of the album's best, in fact -- is "Amazed," where the music slows down and Holland does quite an impressive job of taking a reflective look at the world:

"When you know you can't relate to one more shiny face
Your heart breaks; no one cares
And when you know you can't go on, because everything is wrong
Your heart breaks, but no one's there. . ."

It's only occasionally that the album misfires as it tries to hit some new territory, which is probably not unexpected to most. Right near the album's opening, "Me and My Old Lady" hits an awfully sour note, with Holland rambling about his mysterious "old lady" with lots of superfluous sex references throughout a poorly written song that will leave you hunting for the "skip" button every time. "Don't Pick It Up" isn't exactly a change of pace -- since The Offspring had a terrible faux ska song on Smash as well -- but by god if it doesn't suck horrendously as well. "Way Down The Line" isn't so offensively bad, but it is mostly just a throwaway, a rambling track about children turning into their parents without much in the way of resolution or musical explosion.

The bottom line is that no Offspring fan should be without Ixnay on the Hombre, and a lot of punk rockers might find a lot of honest, hard-hitting spots to like in it. It's not quite the essential 1990s album that Smash was, but perhaps more importantly, it's an album that established The Offspring's long-term viability in a growing field of punk-rock lookalikes. And it doesn't hurt it that almost all of its tracks are enjoyable even independent of that historical fact. Check it out.

Rating: 4.5 stars