At least three members of the Punktastic reviewing team have this record, yet none of us have posted our thoughts. From what I gather we all have very similar opinions, so you’ll have to forgive us for being a tad on the slow side. It’s hard to imagine that it’s been nigh on seven years since the last Descendents full-length, mainly because most of the people reading this review probably didn’t get the record when it came out. Infact a large portion of readers won’t even have been alive when The Descendents first started out – I only made it by a year – so when you talk about seminal punk bands, Milo and company are practically at the top of everyone’s list.
If ‘Milo Goes To College’ isn’t in the top 5 pop-punk albums ever, then ‘Everything Sucks’ certainly will be. But will their newest record join the ranks and go down in history as being one of those records that everyone should own? Well…erm…no, to be blunt. That’s not because ‘Cool To Be You’ isn’t a great record – because it is – but there’s something missing which has made their back catalogue so good. It’s certainly not the sound, which hasn’t really deviated from their 1982 release, as the production is the best of any Descendents record, with the sound thick and full. It compliments everything perfectly, making the all-round listening an even better experience.
Standout tracks include the awesome ‘Dog and Pony Show’ and clever ‘Merican’, all of which hark back to the old days. The lyrical themes haven’t ventured too far away either, with ‘Mass Nerder’ taking a glance back at being the high school geek and ‘Merican’ taking a slightly more socially-aware standpoint. Milo’s vocals are spot on (when have they ever not been?), the basslines clever and the guitars fast and furious. It’s punk rock Jim, and just as we know it. ‘Blast Off!’ and the album’s title-track are shit hot too, like most of the songs to be honest, and will have you singing, tapping and air drumming along like it’s about to go out of fashion.
This is a great record and a fantastic comeback, but it doesn’t quite measure up to some of their previous albums. Had this been any other band we’d be worshipping the ground they walk on, such is the strength of the album as a whole, but when you set the bar so high, anything that doesn’t live up to the challenge leaves an awkward taste. It’s a shame, because this will quite rightly be the soundtrack to the summer and (hopefully) entice many pop-punk fans back onto the band’s back catalogue.
www.descendentsonline.com
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Paul