COOL TO BE YOU

Descendents: Milo Aukerman (vocals); Stephen Egerton (guitar); Karl Alvarez (bass); Bill Stevenson (drums). Additional personnel: Chad Price (background vocals). Recorded at The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2002. On their first album since their 1996 reunion record, EVERYTHING SUCKS, '80s punk icons the Descendents unleash a fierce set of songs that fits seamlessly with their well-honed, melodic yet rocked-out sound. Vocalist Milo Aukerman still emotes the way he did when he was a teenager, but now the odes to geek woe ("Mass Nerder") and gastronomic distress ("Blast Off") are joined by songs such as "'Merican," a scathing US government broadside worthy of Bad Religion. As always, the rest of the band wraps tight, straightforward rhythms and potent guitar lines around Aukerman's sincere sentiments, showing that, happily, some things haven't changed that much since the Descendents debuted in 1981.

• Genre: Pop
• RSD Date: DDD
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 03/23/2004