Released:  February 4th, 1997

Recorded:  June 24th – October 11th, 1996

Genre: Punk Rock, Pop Punk

Record Label:  Columbia

Duration:  42:17

Producer:  Dave Jerden

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Ixnay on the Hombre is One of My Favorites

As I’m sure I mentioned way back in Issue #7 when I covered Smash, it was my first real hard rock record, and one of the first pieces of music I ever owned.  The reason I can be sure of this is because it was one of only 3 cassette tapes that I ever owned, the other 2 being the Mortal Kombat OST (which I later replaced on CD) and the Power Rangers: The Movie OST (I was 10 years old, ok!!?), and I know that I had Smash for quite awhile before I had the other two.  Even when I began getting a few CDs here and there, it would still be another couple of years before I’d start gravitating towards bands like Korn, NIN, and Manson.  Because of a little vacation spot I used to go to with my parents during the summer months, I had to have bought Smash sometime the summer it was released, because sometime late in ’95 I finally got a CD player.  So that traces it back to sometime roughly between Memorial Day and Labor Day of ’94, not more than 1 to 5 months of its release.

Now if I’d had any sense, one of the first things I would’ve done when I first started buying up hard rock, metal, grunge, and alternative albums in the mid to late 90’s, was grab the Offspring’s followup to Smash, Ixnay on the Hombre.  But that wasn’t the case.  In fact, it wouldn’t be until a wave of nostalgia overtook me in my early to mid twenties that I’d ever deliberately sit down with this music.  I suppose I never really had a reason to check it out when I was younger.  I was perfectly happy with the balance of edginess and commercial appeal on Smash, and later I was content to bob along with the lighter fare of Americana.  And in a way, my own experience reflects exactly how Ixnay on the Hombre was treated: stuck in the middle.  Of course there were people who picked it up at the time, but none of these songs would ever see runaway success on the radio, and so in retrospect people look at the band’s magnum opus, Smash, and then skip right along to their most popular era with the music of Americana.

Unfortunately, as someone with 2 albums under their belt at the time, I would’ve been all like, “yeah I like the Offspring.  I know what’s up.  I’ve got TWO of their albums.”  (2 albums earned a lot of cred in highschool, especially if you could actually talk about them meaningfully; then again, I tended to shy away from Americana because as I pointed out in Issue #69, it was an unpopular record for us “rockers, skaters, and freaks” to like at the time.)  Truth is, there was a great Offspring album waiting right there under the surface, indubitably similar to Smash but with its own character as well.

I described Americana as lighter continuation of the material on Smash; well, Ixnay is a tiny shade darker than Smash, mostly due to lyrical content.  It still has an energetic, upbeat feel to its music, though it also keeps its distance from the poppier end of pop punk (compare to Blink-182’s Dude Ranch released the same year, or Green Day’s Nimrod to see what I mean). Alternative rock had grown and spread a great deal during the 3 years between Smash and Ixnay, and surprisingly, the Offspring manages to keep these influences at bay aside from a couple of songs, “Gone Away” and “Amazed.”  They stick to loud and fast music with simple melodies and the same urgency that propelled them through their previous album.

Production on Smash certainly wasn’t bad, but it was a few steps down from “great.”  I don’t think the production is necessarily “great” on Ixnay, but it is a little bit better.  The instruments are clearer and more distinct in the mix, and Dexter’s voice doesn’t fade into the instrumentation quite as much.  The guitars are scratchy and fast, and I’d even posit that Dexter gives one of his most aggressive performances.

“Disclaimer” aside (what is it with shit like this?), “The Meaning of Life” picks up right where Smash left off.  An ode that literally speaks to the phrase “live and let live,” it’s proof that the Offspring haven’t yet traded in their social commentary for songs about mean parents and slutty girlfriends.  Textbook punk drumming pounds away while “oooh’s” and “yeah’s” fill the background.  A catchy melody throughout the verses and chorus rounds out this opener nicely.

“Mota” is “What Happened to You?” part two, reinforcing the band’s “drugs are bad” stance that would help influence the wave of straightedge artists soon to come.  They pull it off well and without being preachy, something that either camp can appreciate.  “Me & My Old Lady” comes next, a weird sort of love song (continuing to challenge social norms about what is and isn’t acceptable) that moves a hair beyond the typical punk sound with its foreign-sounding lead guitar part.

“Cool to Hate” begins with a start-stop style and embraces all the raw, unfocused anger of youth.  I have to believe that Dexter  has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek throughout the song; I really can’t imagine it serious.  But it is funny.  After a long list of things worthy of hate like teachers, school, and Doc Martens, he caps it off the only way he can – “I even hate you too / So fuck you!”  I also like “Being positive is so uncool.”

“Leave it Behind” is a quick by-the-numbers punk song more concerned with speed than melody or rhythm, followed by the slightly slower “Gone Away” that almost totally crosses over into alt rock territory.  “I Choose” cranks up the tempo again with a funky rhythm and guitar riff that give it a Faith No More vibe.  It’s a nice change of pace at the halfway point and one of the group’s most unique songs.  It even features a rare solo from the Offspring!  Then there’s the pointless “Intermission,” followed by the undeniably punky “All I Want.”  With “yah yah yah yah” and blistering drums alongside a call-and-response vocal track (which is sort of replicated by the guitars for an interesting effect), it’s more of the guys doing what they do best.  Short and sweet.

“Way Down the Line” features one of the group’s best melodies, slightly foreshadowing the kinds of tunes that would appear on Americana.  But the music is still as fast as ever, refusing to let up for a second.  “Don’t Pick It Up” seems to follow in the Offspring tradition of adding a ska flavor to the twelfth track.  It’s got a jumpy, bouncy beat, right there in line with “track 12s” from Smash and Americana – “What Happened to You?” and “Why Don’t You Get a Job” respectively.  A cautionary tale about thinking decisions all the way through and understanding the consequences of actions, it’s nice to see that the guys have some perspective when it comes to going against the grain.

“Amazed” is a strange track that sounds like Offspring trying to go Nirvana, especially Dexter’s “yeah…yeah…yeah” that seem to come straight from “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”  The beat is tamer and the track is overall more subdued than most others, moving away from the speed and urgency.  It’s not a bad song, but it feels a little out of place here, and its midtempo pace can’t keep up with the surrounding frenzy.

“Change the World” tops us off; those of you that have heard the secret track at the end of Smash (the first secret track, not the later one that sounds like “Come Out and Play”) will recognize the riff immediately (it was actually a slowed-down version of the riff from “Genocide” to begin with).  With more intense riffing and some impressively audible bass playing during the quieter passages, it’s a fitting close for Ixnay.  

Ixnay on the Hombre may not remembered as fondly as Smash, though it’s still a great album full of the Offspring’s punkiest offerings before they would crossover into poppier waters.  The drumming doesn’t quite blow me away in the same way that it did on the previous record, and there are a couple of weaker tracks, but for everyone who heard Smash and wanted more, Ixnay delivers in spades.  It’s full of that same infections, feel-good energy, with a bit of brains thrown in to boot.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from The Offspring in this series:

• 1994 – Smash – Issue #7
• 1998 – Americana – Issue #69

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums