True, it’s also an often familiar-sounding form – that same chord progression at varying speeds, faster than Bad Religion, slower than NOFX – but they also sound like themselves again. Come To Brazil manages to balance gung-ho forward thrust, a Def Leppard-ish ambition, and humour that actually lands, The Fall Guy is a classic bit of Dexter Holland storytelling that sounds like The Kids Aren’t Alright, and Make It All Right is a pop-punk banger that's made of golden summers.
In there, there’s still the nuggets of Dexter’s questions about the world around him. Most notably, the speedy Truth In Fiction shows an anxiety on misinformation with its talk of ‘Manipulated pixels… confirming all my fears’, showing that while the music is nothing new, the man at least continues to have something worth saying when he wants to.
If nothing else, Supercharged finds The Offspring doing The Offspring very well again. And, really, they’ve tried breaking the mould enough over the years to be allowed to repeat themselves. So long into the game, it’s a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Green Day, Bad Religion, Neck Deep
Supercharged is released on October 11 via Concord