Offspring a big surprise

ROCKERS RETURN AFTER DECADE OFF

IT’S taken them a decade, but The Offspring believe now is the perfect time to release a new album.

Frontman Dexter Holland explained: “I know this has been a long time coming, but people need music in their lives more than ever.

“The album is called Let The Bad Times Roll, so we couldn’t have chosen a better time to release it.

“It’s not a great time in America right now, but with the pandemic it’s not great anywhere.”

Part of the delay was Dexter taking time out to complete a PhD in molecular biology and he added: “I finally finished it in 2017, so from then on we could finally complete the album.

“But when you have been in a band for as long as us it can be good to take a step back. Unless you’re the Rolling Stones I don’t think you can survive otherwise.”

The Offspring are known for their cartoon punk anthems. They tackle some serious issues this time round, including politics on This Is Not Utopia and mental health on Behind Your Walls. Dexter said: “You have to talk to somebody

when you go through a period of depression. We all experience it sometimes.

“A son of one of my friends committed suicide and that made me reflect on how we could communicate better. I began asking myself why somebody would do this.

“If we can get inside the head of somebody suffering, maybe we can find the words to help.

“I’ve lost count how many times we received messages from fans saying our music has helped in difficult times.”

There’s also plenty more typical tomfoolery, such as a punk version of classical composer Grieg’s In The Hall Of The Mountain King.

Dexter laughed: “I love the idea of doing something unexpected There’s never a real reason for anything. At the end of the day you could ask why we’re in a group.

“We might do The Nutcracker next for Christmas and tour with ballerinas on stage. I can see it.”