The Offspring - Days Go By

I had to give this album a couple more listens before I wrote a review. Good thing I did that because this album seems to get better with each listen. The opening cut is a dark-side of Offspring tune that takes their prototypical California Punk Rock feel into melodic rock territory to absolute perfection. They sound spirited as the blow the doors off with the chorus claiming "Will you take what's in my head, And erase me when I'm dead? 'Cause the future is now, Now I'm disappearing" the great opening track has nice little breakdown with one minute left in the song that adds to intensity of the song. Can this sort of excellence continue you might wonder knowing their back catalog of hit and miss.

A more melodic song follows but it still has the aggressiveness that makes the Offspring enjoyable. The first single and title track is a melodic masterclass and one of the bands best songs since Ixnay for sure. The typical sound returns on a little misstep "Turning To You" which isn't one of my favorites on the album they follow it with another filler track. Then the album's most immediate and enjoyable song "Cruising California (Bumpin' In My Trunk)" which rides the fun train all the way into the station for a party you don't want to ever end. The Offspring has never been much at writing great power ballad styled songs but they pull it off with rousing success on "All I Have Left Is You" which could easily be a number one single for them. This is a true high water mark for the band and their songwriting ability.

The Latin flavored "OC Guns" is silly and I can see all the wanna be's in their low riders rockin' this one. Any normal person has to take it with a grain of salt and for what it is entertainment. The dark and sinister "Dirty Magic" is a solid album cut which fills space and gets us to another one of the bands better songs "I Wanna Secret Family (With You)" this is one of the tracks the should be another hit single. The band go right back to their beginnings with "Dividing By Zero" which could have come from Smash easily. "Slim Pickens Does The Right Thing And Rides The Bomb To Hell" is the best song title in their history and is on my list of all-time ones for sure. The song itself is a strong uptempo rocker that sounds even better when played super loud. Overall I have to say this album is probably as good as Ixnay On The Hombre which is still my favorite album by The Offspring but Days Go By might eclipse it the more I listen to it.