Conspiracy of One (The Offspring)

High hopes abounded when I gave this album its first spin at home after buying it... not only was it a new album from one of my favourite bands, but it was released the day before my birthday (and was originally intended for release on the exact same day... heh, how ironic), and after Green Day's 'Warning' I had high hopes for another slice of modern pop-punk the way it should be.

The album as a whole is very varied, which is always good, but compared to the other Offspring albums I feel that this album is less concerted as a whole. 'Ignition' was too similar throughout - 'Smash' and 'Ixnay on the Hombre' both varied somewhat, but were held together by an atmosphere - of growling, angry punk-metal with the former, and a dark sense of humour and do-it-alone sentiment with the latter. 'Americana' was less varied than its two predecessors, despite featuring two songs rather unlike anything The Offspring had done before - 'Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)' and 'Why Don't You Get A Job?'. Thanks to the gritty production, and the slice of americana (pun fully intended) it presented it certainly seemed very much an album in its totality - despite an at times lacking one.

But back to 'Conspiracy of One'. The album, in my opinion, suffers from a severe overdose of diversity. It feels more like a best-of compilation (without, sadly, each track being completely stunning) than an actual album. The tracks don't seem to flow with the ease that The Offspring have previously accomplished... I don't know if this is the doing of Dexter, trying wildly different songwriting styles, or their new producer (who does an otherwise fantastic job), or a mixture of both, but the tracks simply don't fully mesh with each other.

Since I do rather like the album, and a lengthy discussion of its merits generated plenty of material, a track-by-track breakdown of the album follows, including the UK bonus track 'Huck It'.

The rousing opened 'Come Out Swinging' is a classic Offspring track, boasting their trademark power-chord punk and an unwavering, unabating drum beat. A brief crescendo towards the end of the song seems a fitting eye-opener, although it must be said that having heard this track as a *b-side* several weeks previous to the album's release, it all seems very odd. Especially when it was a b-side to the following song, first single 'Original Prankster'. Appropriately, like 'Pretty Fly' (this is undoubtedly the album's appeal to the charts) I didn't think much of it when I first heard it... but the irrepressibly cheerful hooks have forced it to grow on me. It's a very happy-clappy song overall, although some of the lyrics hint at a forced cheerfulness - that's not a criticism, just a revelation that as with so much Offspring material, it's darker underneath.

One of my favourite tracks follows: the furiously energetic 'Want You Bad'. Before I go on I'm afraid I just have to dust off the Green Day comparisons once more; two sleazy pop-punk songs on two separate albums released fairly close together... and both from the two biggest punk bands still going today. I am, of course, speaking of 'Blood Sex & Booze' from 'Warning', Green Day's latest effort. The comparison is amusing especially considering the differing degrees of the sleaziness in the lyrics (Green Day win hands down, especially with the sound engineer and the dominatrix and all...). Personally I relate to the sentiments of the song fairly well, since the most interesting people I know are not those whose "one vice" is being "too nice". Personal details aside, the music itself makes me want to dance and mosh, and the chorus makes me scream along... which upsets people in the car I'm driving, it has to be said.

'Million Miles Away' has been deemed the song most reminiscent of 'Ignition'. The intro sequence builds just like The Offspring's anarcho-punk album. The lyrics are poetically strong, but here the vocals don't particularly stand out in their brilliance. Oh, and this song is good, because Ron Welty on the drums actually has some something interesting to play for once. More classic power-punk. Moving on, we have 'Damn It, I Changed Again' which, scarily enough, I also first heard as a b-side... it's a song I can really relate to on a personal level... the intro really reminds me of 'Have You Ever', but that's possibly just a result of my bizarre listening habits. Anyway - the classic tried-and-tested quiet-loud structure (ala. The Pixies / Nirvana) features once more, alongside a class Offspring chorus. Love it. Next up is the rather growly 'Living in Chaos', another of my favourites. The chorus, I feel, is the crowning glory... I can see myself screaming along with this at a gig, caring not a whit for if I get the shit kicked out of me - and isn't that what punk's all about, eh? Back to the song: downright funky Offspring punk, with gorgeous vocals and lyrics.

The most curious song on the album follows. 'Special Delivery' is clearly an ode to the celebrity stalker (well, it's clear to this deluded brain, anyway). It features a couple of samples, and over these there has been some confusion... Dexter himself stepped up in an interview to clarify as regards a certain sample popularly affiliated with Ally McBeal and her dancing baby. Apparently, it's from a 70s rock band and has nothing to do with the aforementioned show. Thank God. As I recall, Space used a similar sample on 'Spiders', but they avoided similar backlash by simply releasing their album several years before Ally McBeal aired. Easy! Back to 'Special Delivery: comparisons to the celebrity stalker of George Harrison (those unfortunate Beatles, eh?) seem particularly appropriate as the song mentions "the voices tell me to blow you away" - which is very much what the guy who attacked Harrison believed (having been repeatedly misdiagnosed, and thus denied the medication he direly needed). Personally I feel that this is one of the darker songs on the album and is a proper head-banger.

O-kay. 'One Fine Day' is quite possibly my least favourite Offspring song ever, but I'll try to treat it fairly. Musically I disliked it when I first heard it, and overall I still do. Having listened a few times, however, I feel that the irony is still deficient, and the slowly enunciated line "I believe it's my God-given right / To destroy everything in my sight" still makes me cringe. The guitar rhythm between the singing is nice, but apart from that it's all fairly nondescript.

'All Along' continues a meandering trend of not being stunning (how unforgivable!). It's a short little punk blast about, as far as I can tell, putting too much faith into a relationship, and the devastation that follows when it inevitably breaks up. Rather unlike 'All Along', 'Denial, Revisited' sticks out like a sore thumb. The Offspring have covered slow, sensitive songs before (in style, 'Denial, Revisited' is a little reminiscent of 'Amazed') but it's still a shock to come across a song like this amongst punk, punk and more punk. The song is potentially moving in a melancholic fashion, but falls slightly short of the mark - unless I just have a heart of stone. By the simple expedient of possessing a pulse I don't believe this is the case, but I've been wrong before...

Hearkening back to the classic 'Dirty Magic' (from 'Ignition', and the song is astonishing in how it differs so wildly from the furious power-punk which makes up every other track on the album) is 'Vultures', the most difficult song to interpret - at least among my peers. My own guesses have been an insight into the minds and emotions of the schoolkids driven to shoot and kill classmates, or (rather different, I know) two people in a vaguely parasitic relationship. Regardless: musically the song is a steady half-pace on from 'Dirty Magic', although many might hear it and simply think "Nirvana". A great listen, all the same...

The title track concludes the album. Fast and furious, hurrah. An album-ender in the style of 'Smash' and 'Americana' (the songs from the albums of the same name, and I'm purposely ignoring 'Pay the Man' on Americana, just *because*). Incidentally, this song is actually about a solo "mass bomber type guy" as Dexter puts it... rather dark, really, but some of the text in the lyrics booklet is similarly dark. Meaning aside, it's a good song, but not the strongest on the album. 'Conspiracy of One' is very traditional Offspring, but it doesn't put much of a spin on what they do. A great conclusion, though...

Or, at least, it would be if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in England and us lucky folks get a bonus track following conspiracy of one: 'Huck It'. Ironically I get the impression that hucking is an American expression, but nyah-nyah it's ours now and you can't have it back. Ahem. Anyway, the song is a pleasant if fairly nondescript punk bounce, and seems to flow very nicely from 'Conspiracy of One' (the song), which is weird since it's not actually an album track.

A conclusion? Well, here's a brief one: a great album, but that was almost expected from The Offspring. However, its diversity seems to indicate a lack of direction in the band, and despite some fantastic tracks this is somehow lacking when compared to 'Smash' or 'Ixnay on the Hombre'. But for The Offspring's sake, lets hope 'Conspiracy of One' "succeeds" like 'Smash' rather than "flopping" like 'Ixnay on the Hombre', and that they decide on a direction to take for the next album. Until then, I'll be quite happy with 'Conspiracy of One' - as it's almost everything I could have asked for.

From Eyeballs