Descendents
Cool To Be You
Fat Wreck Chords

With every new ALL/Descendents record that comes out, one has to wonder how much more life this band has left. The last three ALL records were good but unremarkable and it’s been years since The Descendents reunited.

Good thing I’m wrong. “Cool To Be You” blends traditional Descendent’s punk with what might be called maturity. Sonically, the band is as tight as ever. Karl Alvarez’s bass rolls follow neither the drums nor the guitar chords. Instead, he pumps out these complicated bass melodies that come off more like a lead guitar.

Guitarist Stephen Egerton is no slouch himself, cranking out guitar leads that could easily fit on a Mars Volta album. Lucky for the fans, the rest of the band isn’t quite so experimental. Milo Aukerman’s voice is aging nicely, adding a bit of rasp with backing harmonies that are usually missing from the band’s records.

Surprisingly, Alvarez and Aukerman wrote almost all the material. Alvarez especially has come into his own on this record, writing two of the best track’s on “Cool To Be You.” “She Doesn’t Care” is a song about loss and divorce and musically sounds like something off of ALL’s super-depressing musical masterpiece “Breaking Things.” “Ten years before I recognized the sacrifice she made to be with me/ said when you want to you can leave,” Aukerman sings on the album’s most poignant track.

“’Merican” is another first. The band goes political with a song that questions some of the moves their government has made. “Listen up man I’ll tell you who I am/ I’m just another stupid American/ But you don’t want to listen/ You don’t want to understand/ Just finish up your drink and go home.”

It’s been a long time since The Descendents helped create a new genre of punk that blends pop with aggressive guitars. Now it’s the norm, and luckily the band is still here to talk about it, and show the youngin’s a trick or two.

Reviewed by: George Koroneos
Reviewed on: April 13, 2004