TJ @ Viva La Mainstream scores an unofficial “blog post of the week” award with his review of the new Offspring CD Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. TJ takes what definitely qualifies as a good hard look at the band’s Bob Rock-produced album, long in the works, and finally available in stores.

And according to TJ, it’s not pretty.

TJ writes:

The Offspring haven’t exactly ever been at the top of anything in their time. Smash may be the most successful indie-label album ever, but it came out 2 months after Green Day’s seminal album Dookie. Every step of the way, where Dexter Holland was the kid at the science fair with the paper-maché volcano, Billie Joe Armstrong was the kid next to him that managed to build a flux capacitor.

Wow. Ouch!

more from the review:

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is a rarity in that it actually gets better the longer you listen to it. The challenge is having the patience and will to get through the subpar and flat-out awful.

Check out the entire review here.