The Offspring's second full-length is by no means universally regarded as a quintessential punk rock album. You may even come across Offspring fans who haven't heard the record. Nevertheless, Ignition gained more than just a little underground success back in the early 90s, and if you're more than just a casual Offspring listener, chances are you've heard this record, or at least some of the songs on it.

The Offspring have been hit with the traditional "punk-rock sellout" accusation numerous times, and it continues to follow them to this day. Some have lashed out at the band, and some continue to enjoy the band's music, regardless of the record company or budget. However, while some may not like to judge the Offspring's music entirely on the record company, it's hard to deny that the resources (or lack, thereof) available to the Offspring do, in fact, impact the overall sound and feel of their music, and Ignition is no exception to this rule.

The indie-label recording capacity, combined with the more hardcore-sounding style of the Offspring's early music combine to give Ignition a rough and gritty sound. And this is, by no means, a negative. While some may argue that a smaller budget is a disadvantage, Ignition is proof that it can most certainly be quite the opposite.

What's interesting about this album is that it isn't in your face. It has very few blatantly poppy hooks. It's energetic and aggressive, but achieves this not through brute-force, but rather extremely interesting songwriting, combined with its gritty and hardcore sound. "We Are One" opens up with its bright and uplifting riff, which is probably the closest thing to a poppy-hook on the entire record, and even then, just the verses and chorus are enough to make the song extremely enjoyable and interesting. "Kick Him When He's Down" slows down the tempo, but keeps the same crunchy sound as the rest of the record. "Dirty Magic", widely regarded by Offspring fans as their greatest work, takes on an eerie, almost Nirvana-esque sound, and "Take it Like a Man" and "Burn it Up" showcase the Offspring's love of middle-eastern riffs.

Ignition is one of the Offspring's most interesting albums, and definitely the most gritty and rough sounding. Anyone looking for a musically interesting punk rock or grunge album will find a lot to love in Ignition. And any Offspring fans who haven't yet should definitely pick this one up, also for its historical significance.