solo-free guitar riffs; and lots of "whoah-ohhh!" sing-along parts. Frontman Dexter Holland rants on about "fragile lives, shattered dreams" on "The Kids Aren't Alright" and, on another track, offers this SoCal extreme-sports manifesto: "Faster now, you know I got no brakes." There's no sense of risk, though -- even the hyperventilating remake of Morris Albert's pathetic "Feelings" is predictably snide.

But the other half of Americana flips purists the bird. The Offspring toss processed percussion and wordless surf-ballad harmonies into their bag of hooks on "She's Got Issues," while "Pay the Man" is a three-part, eight-minute opus with a pronounced Middle Eastern vibe. With steel drum and sleigh bells, "Why Don't You Get a Job?" echoes the insidious singsongy charm of both the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia." And "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is the goofball, Latin-loco-rock successor to the band's catchy-as-hell 1994 single "Come Out and Play"; the new track is even reprised as a mariachi instrumental. This may not be fuel for the punk lifers in the mosh pit, but those who value pop for its gleeful window-smashing novelty will find something to crank up. (RS 801)

GREG KOT