Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate
- Written by Marky Edison
Hypercaffium Spazzinate is the first record in 12 years from the Descendents. It’s the fourth reunion of the on-again, off-again band. It’s nearly 40 years since they first formed and this is their seventh album. After releasing 2004's Cool To Be You on Fat Wreck Chords they have returned to Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph records. The band now live in different corners of the USA and have lives outside of the band. Frontman Milo Aukerman has a PhD in biochemistry and does post-grad work as a scientist while the rest of the band play together in All with vocalist Chad Price.
While other hardcore bands attributed their speedy tunes to amphetamines Descendents have always put it down to their coffee consumption. Drummer Bill Stevenson estimates their collective consumption at 18 pots per day. Even so there are three songs over three minutes on Hypercaffium Spazzinate, making them epic tunes by Descendents standards. One of those is 'Smile'. It is a slow song, comparatively speaking; a catchy, conventional tune with a big heart at its centre. It's a touching tribute, a love song from Aukerman to his bandmate Bill Stevenson. Aukerman’s chorus of "What I wouldn't give to see you smile/Once in a while" is one of the highlights of the album. It's always interesting to hear the incisive punk rock vitriol and call-to-arms subverted and pointed inwards.
There is social commentary in 'On Paper', 'Feel This' and 'Limiter'. The latter being a tirade about the overmedication of the youth, "Just give 'em a pill/ And send them on their way". The metal aspect of hardcore is emphasised on the bouncy and heavy 'No Fat Burger’. Less than a minute long with its chorus of "No more fat", it’s a song bemoaning the change of lifestyles necessitated by middle age. ‘Shameless Halo’ is the poppiest moment on the album with irresistible harmonies and melodies over hardcore rhythms. It's a tune that Bob Mould would be proud of.
Hypercaffium Spazzinate sounds unmistakably like the Descendents. If you've heard any pop-punk tune from the last 30 years, then you already know what they sound like because every pop-punk band is just a Descendents tribute act. The cover once again features the band’s mascot, Milo, based on a high school caricature of their lead singer. Really the only difference between Hypercaffium Spazzinate and their past output is the quality of the recording. The themes, the licks, the frantic pace of the downstrokes; they’re all still there, as is the quality songwriting and the catchiness of the tunes. Get a brew going, get caffeinated, and pogo like it’s 1982, Descendents are back and it feels like they never left.