A little different (Conspiracy Of One - Offspring)

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Conspiracy Of One - Offspring
Date:	27/08/01 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Usual great sound mixed with some new styles

Disadvantages: Most of the album is essentially the same as all their previous music

More than any other band I know, The Offspring have a very definite style that they religiously stick to song after song, album after album. I can always tell if a song I hear is by The Offspring due to that same basic beat that runs through all their music. I wouldn't say that this is necessarily a bad thing, though, because they have developed this style over the years into such a great sounding state.

Although Conspiracy of One is mostly composed of such tracks, it does show that the group are starting to diversify. Take 'Denial, Revisited' for instance, a (relatively) slow moving rock ballad that has more meaningful lyrics than anything else on the album, or indeed in their entire discography. It seems quite out of place amongst Dexter Holland's screaming on every other track. It is by no means a bad piece, but it may not be what you are expecting. 'Vultures' also takes the band away from it's usual hyper-active style, giving us a plodding but none-the-less exciting piece.

The highlight of the album is 'Original Prankster', a song that epitomises what The Offspring are about; 'busting out' of the system. It is also one of their best sounding songs ever. 'Want You Bad' is also worthy of note, again providing a great sounding no-nonsense piece that's heavy on music and light on lyrics. The rest of the album is up to a good standard, mostly sticking to their usual style.

Although The Offspring call themselves a punk band, they are moving ever closer to traditional rock, and this album is moving them further in this direction. This album has been far better thought out than any of their previous efforts, giving us much more variety than we have previously seen. It also shows just what the band is capable of if they apply themselves to different styles of music. In doing this, they have shown a certain maturity, and one can only hope that their future music can continue in this way.

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