Critical Reception
So far, the album, like Conspiracy of One, has been given a score of 60 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "mixed or average reviews".
Reviewers from sites such as Launch.com claimed Splinter was a welcome return to The Offspring's punk roots, citing songs such as "The Noose" and "Da Hui". The more mainstream songs, "Hit That" and "Spare Me the Details", were also praised.
Allmusic's Johnny Loftus also praised punk songs such as "Long Way Home" and "Lightning Rod", and claimed second single "Head Around You" was the album's standout. Like many fans though, he criticized songs such as "The Worst Hangover Ever" and "When You're in Prison", calling them 'throwaways'. PopMatters also praised "Head Around You", "Race Against Myself", and other heavier songs on the album. However, it also called "Worst Hangover Ever" 'idiotic' and again criticized "When You're In Prison" and "Neocon".
Another thing that was attacked was the album's short length, which was even shorter than Conspiracy of One. The review concluded that the album was "wasted potential", portraying it as merely average, in the same vein as many other critical reviews.
Splinter was also heavily praised for its lyrical content, said to take a considerable step up from the band's previous material. "Lightning Rod" is often used as an example of this. However, the album's ending of "Da Hui", which some were unhappy with, and joke song "When You're in Prison", which does not fit with the general album, were criticized as "not being a satisfying end to an already short album."
Read more about this topic: Splinter (The Offspring album)
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