Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

A survivor of the alternative nation '90s, the Offspring have shown themselves to be surprisingly adept at sticking around. Years after they set independent record sales with the appropriately named SMASH, they returned to the charts with their semi-novelty hit, "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," reminding their fans that they still had it. The latest demonstration of what the Offspring are still capable of comes with 2008's RISE AND FALL, RAGE AND GRACE, a big-sounding, slick album complete with Metallica producer Bob Rock on board. The music is vintage Orange County punk, replete with Bad Religion harmonies and the driven sound of T.S.O.L., Social Distortion, and every classic group that came out of that suburb. That's not to say there aren't surprises, such as "A Lot Like Me," which features a chiming piano worthy of Coldplay, and "Fix You," pure radio power balladry.