Descendents - Cool to Be You (2004)

Tracklist

1. Talking
2. Nothing With You
3. She Don't Care
4. 'Merican
5. Dog and Pony Show
6. Blast Off
7. Dreams
8. Cool to Be You
9. Maddie
10. Mass Nerder
11. One More Day
12. Tack
13. Anchor Grill
14. Dry Spell

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.