The Descendents are as far as I’m concerned, one of the most important punk bands in history. Growing up I was always fascinated by the music of Dead Kennedys, Wire, The Buzzcocks, and especially The Descendents. However, they’ve always struck me as a band that needs some time to create their masterpieces. When I first heard “Milo Goes to College” I was blown away. But then when I heard their follow up albums a few short years later, I was equally blown away, but not in a good way. The songs were still catchy, but had so much less lyrical content, and they just seemed lazy. Then Descendents took a bunch of years off, and came out with “Everything Sucks”, which honestly I almost enjoyed as much as the classic “Milo Goes To College”. Since then, they’ve taken a bunch of breaks, come back for some tours, released the solid “Cool To Be You” album, but it’s still been a while since we’ve heard from Milo Aukerman and The Descendents. Well say no more, here’s the band’s first album in 12 years, “Hypercaffium Spazzinate”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHd-PLgKlbs
(Some classic Descendents, y'all better know this one)
This album starts off fantastically strong, with the unbelievable “Feel This”. After all these years I’m always so blown away by just how rejuvenated the band sounds after taking time off. The Descendents sound just as focused as ever, hell I would even say louder than ever, with many moments here rivaling “Everything Sucks”. Legendary Descendents vocalist Milo Aukerman here sounds just as focused as he has in the past, and with just as much passion. As to be expected, there are some fantastic vocal harmonies here, and lyrically “Feel This” is really strong too. It doesn’t overstay its welcome either, only lasting about a minute and 15 seconds. But, it’s an exhausting, wild track that honestly sets up everything else here fantastically. Up next we have the first single dropped on the album, “Victim Of Me”. Compared to the first track here this one is a lot more in the Pop Punk/Power Pop direction, with a much bouncier feel. However the band are still as focused, just sounding a little bit more fun. Milo sounds just as passionate delivering his performance, and The Descendents can really do this sound justice. And while I do enjoy this track still, honestly I really really miss the urgency and raw aggression of the first track on the album. “Victim Of Me” is still solid though. The next track though has just the extra energy I was looking for. “On Paper” right off the bat has a nice bite to it. Lyric wise, this is fantastic, and paints a fantastic picture of Milo like we haven’t really seen in years. What made “Milo Goes To College” as perfect as it is, was just how wonderful of a self portrait of it was for Milo Aukerman, and this is honestly the closest I’ve heard to that in what seems like forever. Outside of the lyrical performance, The Descendents sound just as loud as earlier, while remaining catchy and showing they can still fuse hardcore and power-pop wonderfully. So far, honestly this is everything I wanted to hear from a Descendents return album. “Shameless Halo” is up next, and boy these tracks don’t give you even a second to breathe, but that’s the way it should be. The Descendents continue to sound just as focused, and the harmonious vocals right off the bat just sound fantastic. Stephen Egerton’s riff here is so driving and solid, while Milo goes back and forth between semi-sweet and rough vocals that just do wonders for “Shameless Halo”. Descendents don’t really let up as the album moves on either. “Without Love” ends up being one of the most stand out tracks here, with a smooth, pop punk feel and Milo sounding incredibly comfortable. Lyrically here, and for the most part the album in general, Descendents come off just as compelling as ever, and most importantly, not outdated. “Without Love” may be the poppiest track on here, but only The Descendents could pull it off and still seem just so cool. Honestly, some of the poppier tracks on here make for some of the best moments, such as “Smile”. “Smile” is borderline a pop rock tune, but to be honest it just works so well with them. While the instrumentals are aggressive as ever, Milo’s performance here is borderline adorable. Descendents ladies and gentlemen still sound solid after all these years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue6vRaLoxk
These fantastic punk jams just keep on going, with the upbeat and jolly “Fighting Myself”. Milo’s vocals here just drive home the fact that Descendents are one of the most definitive pop punk bands of all time. The melodies here are nothing short of fantastic and really stick with you, making for some of the catchiest punk rock tracks I’ve heard this year. Overall I really don’t have a single bad thing to say about “Fighting Myself”. Then we have the much grimier sounding “Limiter”. Right off the bat we have these much punchier bass showing that Descendents really haven’t missed a beat instrumentally either. And hell, if you thought Milo sounded passionate before, “Limiter” is absolutely screaming right in your face. Lyrically this one is about children taking medication for ADHD, specifically his own son, so you know that this one is hitting super close to Milo. It’s not my favorite track on here, but man is it ever passionate, and very aggressive. There are actually a few tracks on here that are on the more aggressive side and I just can’t get into them. Take for example the early track “Testosterone”. This one starts off fierce, with a great driving riff. However once the verses start everything just falls flat. There are certainly lyrical highlights, but overall I just can't get into the verses here. When it comes down to it, honestly it's Milo's performance that I can't get into. His personality is usually a driving force on Descendents tracks, and this one just doesn't click. The sheer aggression of everything else however, is certainly commendable. "Comeback Kid" late in the album has a lot of the same problems. Listening to the beginning of this track, man I had some high hopes, especially since this is one of the heaviest tracks on the album. However, the lyrics here are just boring as all hell. They're easily the most repetitive lyrics on the entire album. While instrumentally most of this track sounds solid, nothing about "Comeback Kid" grabs me. Then we have "Spineless and Scarlet Red", which isn't necessarily a bad track, but it's one I really did not expect. Don't get me wrong, this track has an absolutely killer riff, but when it comes to Milo's vocals, they're a little weird. I'm used to Milo's voice having more of an upper register, but his vocals here are much deeper and darker. The melodies are still there, and there are some great lyrical moments as well, but Milo's deeper vocals just don't do it for me as much. And overall there's just such a heavier feel to the track, it's definitely not what I was expecting. On the other hand though, "Full Circle" is one of the heavier tracks tracks here and it goes over FANTASTIC. This isn't power-pop, this isn't pop punk, this is melodic hardcore at its best, and it instantly grabs hold and doesn't let up. Everything here is so damn chaotic, but they still manage to keep their act together for a solid chorus. And honestly, it's the way it should be, and they really do this sound so much justice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8bJxESTHI4
Now, every Descendents album is certain to come with a few short, hardcore jams. This album is no different, starting off with the goofy, quirky "No Fat Burger". On this one, clearly Milo and the boys are just having a little fun, and I don't necessarily mind it. It's not too goofy to the point where I can't take the album seriously, and Milo's performance is entertaining. However, you also can't really dig too heavy into these lyrics, so it is what it is. "Human Being" on the other hand I can't really get to at all. It's easily the most hardcore thing here, and the chorus is harmonious and solid. But as far as the verses go, I just can't get into them at all. Usually I dig these short, hardcore blasts, but "Human Being" comes off as just an afterthought for the most part. On the other hand, "We Got Defeated" is near perfect. It's 58 seconds of punky, grimy goodness. Milo's performance here is absolutely monstrous, he sounds like he's going to smash something any second. While there are some heavier tracks on the album, "We Got Defeated" is easily the most focused one, and by far the most exciting. Then we have the album's finale, "Beyond The Music". For the most part this track is solid, with Descendents going for a poppier sound for the finale. If your looking for a rough, tough finale you should probably look elsewhere, cause this bouncy riff and biographical performance is pretty sweet. That's not to say this track takes it easy, the riff is easily just as focused and the band still sound great. It's not the most exciting ending, but it's a respectable one and it's damn nice to hear.
Rating: 7.6/10
Give A Listen To: "Feel This", "On Paper", "Full Circle", "Smile"
Overall Thoughts: It'a a solid freakin album to be honest. It's not as genre defining as "Milo Goes To College", and it's not as GIGANTIC as a comeback as "Everything Sucks", but the band still sounds so freakin good together. There are great pop-punk and power pop moments on here, but that doesn't mean that Descendents have gone soft, there are plenty of great hardcore blasts on here as well. It's not as consistent as their old work either. But almost 40 years together as a band, and THIS is what you guys are coming out with, that alone is impressive.
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