Did anyone listening to this in 1989 ever imagine that ten years later The Offspring would be one of the biggest bands on the planet? No? Didn’t think so. Crazy, isn’t it? It’s like Nickelback and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. All these bands who have these incredibly raw, obscure or unusual debuts that you always think will keep them firmly placed in the underground, yet they go on to worldwide fame. But that’s exactly what you get with ‘The Offspring’, the 1989 debut album of, uh, The Offspring.With edgy and brash guitar playing, unpolished vocals and rather juvenile lyrics, this is an incredibly raw pop punk album, which doesn’t quite offer much in terms of potential. Sure, its energy is infectious, but the music lacks the melody and hooks that would give the band such monumental success on later releases. As a result, a lot of the music sounds pretty bland, and the vocals, seemingly directionless at times, just kind of sit on top, most times sounding like vocalist Dexter Holland is trying to squeeze too many words into a short space of time. As a result, nothing really clicks with me here. The band will go on to write some absolute bangers, but most of the music here is very repetitive and consists of the same few guitar chords being strummed at a fast paced. ‘Beheaded’, ‘Jennifer Lost the War’ and ‘Kill the President’ are the only tracks I can even consider remotely memorable, but even then, I’ve already forgotten how they go. If you’re expecting ‘Pretty Fly’ or ‘Original Prankster’ and other mainstream radio hits, then you have most definitely come to the wrong album, as this is an almost totally different band, and not for the better. ‘The Offspring’ pales in comparison to the bands later, more polished, melodic and catchier work, and as a result, is best kept for collectors and die-hard punk fans.