It’s been 20 long years since the Offspring’s second album ‘Ignition’ hinted at the great things that were going to happen to the band after the release of the seminal ‘Smash’ a couple of years later, which transported them to mega stardom. So after millions of records sold, countless number ones and huge live audiences under their collective belts we have their first album in four years and of this decade. ‘The Future Is Now’ is classic Offspring; buzzing riffs, a soaring chorus and a stomping pace make for an exciting opener, followed by the anthemic ‘Secrets From The Underground’ and the tuneful swagger of the title track, which is fuelled by an Americana rock that tips its hat to the Foo Fighters. It’s all undeniably Offspring in every shape and form and you cannot deny that the foursome haven’t lost the knack of penning an infectious song. As the album progresses there are moments of ‘Smash’s’ punk thunder on tracks like ‘Hurting As One’ but as ever there are a couple of what I’ll call novelty tracks. Now, it was us in the UK that put one of these ‘novelty’ tracks to number one with ‘Why Don’t You Get A Job?’ and the equivalent here is the radio friendly ‘Cruising California (Bumpin’ In My Trunk)’ with its nauseating, booty shakin’ R&B chorus. One to skip. All in all ‘Days Go By’ isn’t exactly punk, but, hey, it’s a solid, impressive rock record that could make it one of the soundtracks of the Summer, albeit with the odd blemish on it.