Album Review: 9th & Walnut by Descendents (by John O'Hare)

Descendents need absolutely no introduction whatsoever. So let’s dive straight into the latest release, 9th & Walnut (Epitaph, 2021). This record isn’t a straight up new album, it’s a bunch of songs originally written between 1977 and 1980 with only three having been released previously. The most interesting thing to note is that this was recorded with the ‘classic’ lineup – which features Tony Lombardo on bass and Frank Navetta on guitar, alongside mainstay members Milo Aukerman and Bill Stevenson.

Opening track Sailor’s Choice is typical Descendents. Opening with that fizzy, bright guitar tone we’ve come to love and immediately thrusting Milo’s vocals at you within 20 seconds. The bass is expectedly prominent, precise and clean. Before you know it, Sailor’s Choice has finished and second track Crepe Suzette has opened with a cheeky bass riff. It’s perhaps the simplicity in the bass and guitar that gives this song a more rock ’n’ roll kind of vibe which I found interesting. Once again, before you know it the song has finished and we’re treated to another cheeky bass intro, this time opening up You Make Me Sick. The vocal melody is an instant hook and could easily have appeared on Descendents’ previous record Hypercaffium Spazzinate (Epitaph, 2016). If you’re familiar with Descendents’ back catalogue, you just knew this song was gonna end with the sound of someone being sick. Nice.

Lullaby is a slight departure to the previous songs in that the guitars are deeper and the main riff doesn’t sound obviously like the same band. This was the first time when it felt like the song was written by younger musicians – which it was, remember?

Track 5, Nightage is the obvious stand out, due to the -age title – a common Descendents moniker. Once again the bass is working hard throughout. Nightage is the longest song on the record, even making space for a guitar solo. Keen listeners will hear a sample of someone saying ‘Play it Frank, Play it’. It’s definitely Frank’s moment to shine. Baby Doncha Know, is a short aggressive blast, ending with some staggered drum/guitar smashes and a snotty Milo exclaiming ‘Do you know what you’re gonna do with yourself/I guess not’

Up to this point, there hasn’t been a standout track, although the excellent musicianship, complimented by Milo doing exactly what we love is really great to hear. Tired Of Being Tired came out of nowhere and blew me away. Opening with Tony showing off his bass skills and Bill Stevenson on drums sounding as if he’s in his element, the song has no chorus, but each verse ends with a fantastic, harmonised vocal line that changes the whole dynamic of the song…and then it’s gone. Thankfully this moment is played out 5 or 6 times so you can appreciate it in all its glory. I’d happily have it a few more times if I could.

I’m Shaky is another slight departure from what you expect in a Descendents song. Even the backing vocal chorus shout of ‘Guess I’m Pretty Shaky’ sounds like a different band. The bass favours a blues-rock style riff which also sets the song apart. The vocal harmonies on this song definitely give it another edge which I enjoyed.

Anyone aware of Descendents knows they’re fond of throwing in some weird, discordant songs in there from time to time. Grudge is the moment it takes that turn. It starts out fairly straight up punk, but soon enough drops to just bass and drums with a spoken word part. I’m interested to know who it is in this part, ’cause it doesn’t sound like Milo at all. To me it sounds like Paul Stanley of KISS, giving his rock and roll speech at the end of God Gave Rock N Roll To You… haha.

I love it when it’s clear the placement of tracks has been thought about – following the moody, aggressive Grudge with the super melodic, bittersweet Mohicans is a stroke of genius and really makes this song pop. I was pleased to hear it featuring Bill Stevenson’s trademark double snare hits in the intro. Wonderful.

Like The Way I Know has a super memorable chorus line, delivered in typical Milo fashion. This is one of those short, sweet songs that gets stuck in your head because of its simplicity. The record takes another weirdo turn with It’s A Hectic World. It seems super simple, but having the vocals and guitars following the same melody is really effective in making the song sound a bit odd. Unfortunately this is probably one of my least favourite songs on the record, but the strange tone does add something to the sombre feel of the following track, To Remember. Lyrically, Descendents may seem very surface level a lot of the time, but they always drop at least one deeper, slightly melancholic banger. To Remember has a fantastic chorus which pulls on the heartstrings.

As quick as they grew up and wrote something deeper, they come back down with Yore Disgusting – ‘You’re disgusting/you’re like the head of a dog/you’re disgusting/you know you look like a hog’. Classic. This is followed by It’s My Hair, another straight up punk song about doing what you want with your hair. I couldn’t help but feel like the record was winding down by this song, and there’s still 3 to go.

I Need Some has some nice vocal moments, especially in the chorus and, to be fair, with some more typical Descendents flavour, it could have appeared on Cool To Be You (Fat Wreck Chords, 2004). Ride The Wild isn’t bad but feels like it’s been shoved at the end because it’s not bad/not good. The final song is a cover of Glad All Over by The Dave Clark Five which they actually do a stellar job of performing. A very pleasant end.

After being quite skeptical about how good this record could be, 9th & Walnut was a surprisingly good listen. There were no massively standout songs, but it’s fairly solid throughout and there was some fantastic moments particularly with the bass and vocals. To say that 3 out of the 4 members were 17–18 years old at the time of writing these songs is absolutely crazy and goes to show why Descendents have become one of the most loved and respected punk bands of all time.

Stream and download 9th & Walnut on Bandcamp here.

Like Descendents on Facebook here.

This review was written by John O'Hare.

Album Review: Skeleton Coast by The Lawrence Arms (by Marcus Pond)

I first became aware of The Lawrence Arms after buying the 2002 Warped Tour sampler. It was a double disc affair and a great memento of my first and only Warped Tour experience, but I’ll admit that there wasn’t much about the song “Navigating the Windward Passage” that stuck out to me, other than that the singer’s voice (Brendan Kelly) seemed too raspy and grating for me to really enjoy. I didn’t skip it every time, though, but I mostly forgot about them outside of that tune, and didn’t really give them another listen until they released Oh! Calcutta! in 2006.

At the time, I was enrolled in a Christian university that I didn’t like, in a small town that I left as often as I could, and was struggling to endure the seemingly year-long winter weather that few southern California kids would’ve put up with. It was in this condition that Oh! Calcutta! (hailed by many as the Arms’ best work to date) wormed its way into my ears and my heart, and I worked backwards into their catalogue, also falling in love with Apathy and Exhaustion. The self-loathing and melancholy mixed with punk rock anger, delivered by different and at times dueling vocalists really resonated with me.

Since 2006, the band had released just one other record (2014’s Metropole, their first release on Epitaph) and what was essentially a “greatest hits” compilation (2018’s We Are The Champions of the World), so it wouldn’t have been a stretch to assume that the days of putting out new music under The Lawrence Arms banner had passed. But with Skeleton Coast, the boys from Chicago show that, even with all three members being in their 40s, they’ve still got it.

The singles leading up to Skeleton Coast were “Last Last Words” and “PTA” (which stands for Planes Trains and Automobiles), and are great samplers of what TLA offers. On “Last Last Words”, Chris McCaughan croons mournfully as soothing power chords soar. His lyrics, usually a bit more wistfully poetic than Kelly’s, paint the bittersweet finality of the impression that’s left behind when we leave this world; “Hang me in the halls of obscurity / Behind the velvet ropes / In a distant gallery”.

“PTA”, on the other hand, is a song fronted by Kelly, and opens up with pounding drums and a raucous verbal assault. Like “Last Last Words”, it centers on death, but is approached uh, differently, more nihilistic (“Don’t worry baby it’s nigh / The end of our time / The brush on your thigh / The feeling of toiling and loving / Only to watch it all die”) and carnal (“Dusty and lonesome and craving a glance / That starts in your heart then shoots into your pants”).

McCaughan and Kelly are the yin and yang of The Lawrence Arms, balancing each other out, both in vocal delivery and lyricism. It’s that balance that keeps this and most of their records fresh to my ears, as the songs seem perfectly sequenced to keep your attention from start to finish. Never too romantic, depressing, or angry, they find the sweet spot and lead the journey.

Kelly described the record on the “Road To The Skeleton Coast” podcast (which began earlier in the year and detailed much of Kelly’s discography with The Lawrence Arms, as well as other bands, leading up to and including Skeleton Coast) as a type of concept album about an outpost at the end of the world. Recorded in El Paso, Texas, which is on the edge of the country and essentially on the edge of nowhere, it has a bit of a post-apocalyptic vibe to it – as if releasing music during a global pandemic needed to be even more ominous.

Some of my internet music buddies seemed quick to point out that they prefer the “Chris” songs (I have a soft spot for Four One Five Two, the debut LP from McCaughan’s solo vehicle by the name of Sundowner), but something about most of the “Brendan” songs just really appeal to me this time around. “Pigeons and Spies” is probably my favorite song (and will probably end up on my own personal “best of TLA” playlist on Spotify), and has some of the best lyrics. On it, Kelly spits out a handful of oddly specific metaphors involving dinosaurs and pigeons, before proclaiming “I’m tired / And you’re tired too / I want to make big changes but I’m not in the mood”. When they get to the bridge, it’s as triumphant as the Arms are on the record, and it’s about drinking before 9:00.

“Dead Man’s Coat”, “Ghostwriter”, and “Under Paris” (all Chris songs) are also highlights on the record, which clocks in at 35 minutes. Only one of the 14 tracks goes past the three minute mark, so buckle up – the tracks are as unrelenting as the year it was released.

RIYL: anything that Brendan Kelly has done, the Red Scare Industries catalogue, LaGrecia, and Arby’s.

Stream and download Skeleton Coast on Bandcamp.

Like The Lawrence Arms on Facebook.

This review was written by Marcus Pond.

Album Review: 5 Years Behind by THICK (by Emma Prew)

The COVID-19 lockdown has me listening to and needing new music now more than ever. I can’t remember exactly when I came across Brooklyn, New York, trio THICK but I think it was via the ‘fans also like’ section of Spotify. I put their album, 5 Years Behind, on my current listening playlist (New For Prew) and proceeded to listen to various songs from it at random along with a load of other new tunes. Before long I was hooked on their passionately aggressive yet catchy songs and had started to listen to the album – as it should be listened to – front to back. It was only when I ordered the vinyl (from Specialist Subject Records), and looked at the back of the sleeve when it had arrived, that I discovered 5 Years Behind is in fact released by the iconic Epitaph Records.

THICK are Nikki Sisti (vocals and guitar), Kate Black (vocals and bass) and Shari Page (vocals and drums). 5 Years Behind was released on the 6th of March and, if you aren’t already familiar with it, this is why I think you should check it out!

The album begins with its title track, 5 Years Behind. Kicking off with a drum roll, a fuzzy bass line and an indie punk meet garage rock style guitar riff, the song certainly feels like an opening track or introduction to both the album and the band. The verses are sung at a fast pace while the chorus is slower and feels almost dreamlike as THICK sing about feeling overwhelmed by all that life throws at them. The outro, which sees the band repeating the line ‘I keep on trying’, will no doubt feel relatable to many listeners – myself included. The song slowly fades out into track number two, Sleeping Through The Weekend which continues with similar themes. This song has a more upbeat tempo from the outset than the opening track with a catchy riff that brings to mind Camp Cope. For the most part, the vocals are soft and almost soothing which contrasts with the loud guitars and crashing drums. However, throughout the song it feels like tension levels are building and the band really let out all their frustration and venom by the bridge – ‘I don’t care about your new job, I don’t wanna hear about your paintings, Tired of sleeping through the weekend, I don’t wanna hear about your new friends.’

The third song on 5 Years Behind is Bumming Me Out. It’s probably clear from the title but the song is about how it can sometimes feel like everything you see or read is getting you down, wearing you down and/or freaking you out. In the weird times we’re currently living in, this song hits home even more. The song itself doesn’t get me down – or bum me out – however, instead it feels encouraging and powerful. A particular line that stood out to me at the end of the song was ‘Anxiety gets the best of me but it won’t break me down.’. We’ve had some louder moments on 5 Years Behind thus far but the fourth song takes things up another notch with the ferociously fast paced, Fake News. No prizes for guessing what this song is about! Much of the song is made up of shouts of ‘Fake news!’ but there are also two verses which feature some brilliant exchanging of lines between Nikki, Kate and Shari. What’s better than one kickass vocalist? Three kickass vocalists. Home opens with a distortion heavy guitar riff and firm bass line before the drums come in along with a second guitar part. When the vocals come in they are of the softer variety again, as THICK sing of how it can often feel like those you love the most – your family and perhaps life-long or childhood friends – can be the most narrow-minded. Sometimes you forget that not everyone is as accepting or welcoming as those within certain circles – the DIY punk scene, for example. ‘Feelings like anger and love share no gender they all feel the same.’

If I was to pick a standout track from this album or at least a song to play to someone who had never heard THICK before, I would choose track number seven. Mansplain opens with a variety of sound snippets featuring men making statements such as ‘girl bands are really in right now’, ‘are those your boyfriend’s drums?’, ‘are you girls on the list?’, ‘do you think they’d be this successful if they were men?’ and ‘they sound great for women’. Doesn’t that just make your blood boil? It’s hard enough being a woman in day-to-day life sometimes, I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it is in the music world. Sadly, women and non-men are treated like shit on a daily basis and we need bands like THICK and songs like Mansplain to put these men in their place. (I know not all men are like this but plenty are.) Mansplain also happens to be a fierce feminist anthem that I can’t get enough of.

The second half of the album begins with WHUB which has lengthy instrumental introduction that serves as a suitable interlude between side A and side B of the record. We soon learn that WHUB stands for ‘where have you been?’, as THICK reminisce about meeting someone for the first time and wondering where they’ve been since then – ‘I’ve been thinking ’bout when we met, With your guitar strapped to your back, Where have you been?, Where have you been?’. There’s a lot of songs on this album that I imagine are great to yell along to at a live show and WHUB is no exception. I think a THICK show would be a very cathartic experience for both the audience and the band. Maybe one day, when all this is over, I’ll find out for myself. Up next is Won’t Back Down. THICK slow the pace down a little here for an empowering song about standing up for what you believe in. Despite not being as fast paced or so obviously assertive as some of the songs on 5 Years Behind, I think Won’t Back Down is a real highlight of the album. It shows that you don’t always have to be loud and aggressive to get your message across, even though that does sometimes helps. The song also features some piano which adds another dimension to the THICK sound that we don’t hear on any of the other tracks. THICK bring the tempo and volume back up somewhat for Can’t Be Friends. It’s a catchy number with the band’s pop sensibilities on show alongside their raw garage sound. It’s a contrast of styles that reminds me of London via California femme punks Charmpit and has me thinking that a tour with those two bands would be awesome – when touring is a thing that can happen safely again, of course. The song finishes with some excellent layered vocal harmonies before fading out with plenty of distortion.

If you liked Mansplain, then you’re bound to love the penultimate song of 5 Years Behind – Your Mom. It’s a short and snappy song that doesn’t waste a single second in getting its point across. Opening with stop-start guitars between the lines ‘Have a baby’ and ‘Have a career’, Your Mom is about the often unrealistic and unnecessary expectations that mothers – whether they are our own or not – can have for young women. Similar to Fake News, the verses are intense outbursts while the chorus is more melodic. I don’t think the song would work half as well if it was just one or the other and I love that THICK can pull of both styles with ease. Finishing off the album in style is Party With Me. Although the song begins in a somewhat subdued tone with stripped back guitar and gentle vocals, you can guarantee that a song with ‘party’ in the title isn’t going to stay that way. And it certainly doesn’t. Party With Me is about wanting to let loose and have fun without worrying about all of the aforementioned things that this album has covered thus far. Obviously the repeated lines of ‘Take your clothes off and party with me’ are insanely catchy but I think the following lines hammer the sentiment home all the more – ‘We’ll have a drink and take a walk, And then we’ll go back and we’ll talk, About the bullshit that we wish we knew, But in the end we never do.’

5 Years Behind has gone from being an album that I accidentally stumbled across when simply looking for something new to listen to, to absolute essential listening and an album that is certainly one of the very best I’ve heard this year. So, what are you waiting for? Stick it on and turn it up loud!

You can stream and download 5 Years Behind on Bandcamp here and like THICK on Facebook here.

This review was written by Emma Prew.

Making A Case For NOFX (by Lee Morton and Brett Coomer)

Here's part three of our new series – Making A Case For. In this series, two of the CPRW team take a classic punk rock band and put forward their argument as to why their choice of album is the band’s best. Today, Lee and Brett nominate the best NOFX album.

Making A Case For Punk In Drublic (Lee Morton)

Cast your mind back to 1994, the grunge era is on its last legs and nu-metal is just taking off. Both Green Day and The Offspring have broken punk into the mainstream conscious with the release of “Dookie” and “Smash” respectively and DIY punks NOFX released their fifth, and still their most successful album to date, “Punk In Drublic”.

Against the introverted grunge scene and toxic masculinity of nu-metal, the juvenile humour mixed with short, sharp hook laden tracks that make up “Punk In Drublic” was a much needed adrenaline shot in the arm of the DIY punk scene. Streamlining the more hardcore punk of their earlier releases, this album, more than any others since, truly captures the spirit of NOFX and laid the template for all their future albums.

With sales in excess of 1 million copies worldwide, despite limited radio play or music TV coverage, it is one of the most successful independent album releases of all-time and effectively saved Epitaph Records as well as ensuring the growth of Fat Wreak Chords, with both labels becoming synonymous with mid-90s punk.

If the numbers aren’t enough to justify this as their greatest release, then what about the songs? One look at the track-listing and it reads like a greatest hits set, which in effect is what it is. Fan favourites such as “Linoleum”, “Leave It Alone” and “The Brews” are live constants and almost perfect punk songs, but dig deeper and there’s plenty of meat to get your teeth into with racism in their sights on “Don’t Call Me White” and “The Brews” whilst politics get shot down too with “Perfect Government”.

In fact, “Perfect Government” paved the way for NOFX to become more political with future releases, such as “The Decline” which Brett will wax lyrically about but the fact is, would they have even made that record without the foundations laid down in “Punk In Drublic”?

The influence that this record has made on other bands is without question, having inspired many good, and not so good bands, to pick up instruments but by also incorporating ska and reggae into their sound they helped keep the flames of these genres burning during some lean years.

Now, if none of this helps convince you that this was their finest hour then I shall leave the last word to guitarist El Hefe, who told the Associated Press in 2014 that “to me, that was our best album” so if he thinks that then it must be true.

Making A Case For The Decline (Brett Coomer)

In 1999, NOFX was one of the biggest punk bands on the planet that wasn’t being played on mainstream radio or TV and had been together for over 15 years. So one would expect the band to release an album with more of the same short, fast, snotty punk songs that built their establishment. Instead, according to the band they had “done enough short songs, time for a long one” and at 18-and-a-bit minutes ‘The Decline’ is definitely the longest song in the band’s catalogue and one of the longest punk songs ever recorded.

‘The Decline’ is only one song, but it has more dynamics and musical nuance than a lot of albums made up of 9 or more 2-plus minute songs. The song starts off as any normal NOFX song would, with some bass chords ringing out over a fast hi-hat beat, and very quickly makes you think of a typical punk rock song. But, with the help of some seamless key and time signature changes throughout its 18 minutes, ‘The Decline’ takes the listener on a journey through what can only be described as movements, each with its own distinct feel, while still contributing to and staying consistent with the theme. It never shies too far away from the NOFX sound though, featuring all of the characteristics you’d expect on any NOFX album: blazingly fast drum beats, frantic but fluent bass lines, awesome yelling backing vocals from Eric Melvin, and a number of guitar solos from El Hefe. Much like the music, the lyrics tell a few different stories and offer a range of attacks, both metaphorical and blatant, on the state of the American government, policies and the general decline of society. All themes that are mostly still valid today.

Choosing a single favourite album from a band like NOFX with such a large catalogue of music is always going to be a challenge. I’m almost positive that if you surveyed everyone at a NOFX concert you’d get a bunch of votes for each of their albums (maybe with the exception of Liberal Animation) with perhaps two or three outliers like Punk In Drublic, Wolves in Wolves Clothing, and So Long And Thanks for All The Shoes, which are all really great albums and worthy of the praise but they all still have one flaw in common: filler.

The question may be asked: Is it a song? Is it a punk rock opera? Is it an EP? Is it an album? Who cares. Whichever label you’d like to place on ‘The Decline’ by NOFX, it takes nothing away from the fact that it is an impressive piece of music released by one of the most prolific, divisive, and infamous bands of modern punk rock and remains an achievement of epic proportions even 21 years after it was first released.

P.S. The vinyl is more than just one song, as the B-side features a demo version of a more traditional length and sounding NOFX song, perhaps to remind everyone that the band hadn’t completely lost touch with their short fast punk roots.

This feature was written by Lee Morton and Brett Coomer.