The Offspring's Americana… One of the first CDs I ever bought (along with Korn's Follow the Leader), and what a long way we've all come since I was in seventh grade, eh? Panned upon its release in 1998, and still panned today, Americana is uneven at best, but not without its bright spots.

The first song, "Have You Ever" is a bad way to start (other than the intro). The incessant sounds of Dexter Holland's vocals singing "FAAAAAAAAAAAAALLING, I'M FAAAAAAAAAAAALLING" through most of the first part of the track grates on the nerves. The second part of the song, which I call the "If You Walk Away" part is a little better, and leads straight into "Staring at the Sun," which rages on from the start, and gets faster as it progresses. Good.

The anti-poseur song, and the major hit here, "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" isn't anything special. Really, other than some clever lyrics and some decent guitar playing, it's unremarkable, unlike the next song. "The Kids Aren't Alright" was the third single, and it's heavy with a good intro. Ferocious drummer, some semi-insightful lyrics and a bleak message of hopelessness. I love it! But then the 'Springs mess it all up with the sub-par "Feelings," which drones on. It's instantly hate able, but it's mercifully short. A slight step up (thus into the "decent" range) is "She's Got Issues." Can't go wrong with songs about people with baggage. Well, yeah, you can, but this one doesn't. "Walla Walla" is rather funny.

Nothing wrong with "End of the Line," "No Brakes" or "Why Don't You Get a Job." But the best song here, by far, is the title track: "Americana." Witty, raging and half-full of satire-y goodness. Finally, the closer, "Pay the Man" might be the best song if it wasn't for the overlong introduction that puts me to sleep before the meat of the song starts up. Nice effort, though.

Americana (the album) just lacks the bite and sheer aggression that carried Smash and made that their best album. The band seems to be happy going through the motions, and through the years, Dexter has become a more calm singer, which at least is good for the future. But if the band keeps putting out sub-par material like this, what kind of future will they have?