Album Review: Descendents - "9th & Walnut"
We're a little bit late to the party with this one but the prospect of a new Descendents album is always something worth a listen. However, this is a bit of an odd one as the songs on 9th & Walnut actually date from the very early days of the Descendents, before even Milo Goes To College. Long story short, these songs were re-recorded in 2002 by the group's original line-up before Milo finally got round to remastering the thing and re-recording the vocals during lockdown last year.
9th & Walnut is pretty much classic Descendents formula with 18 songs zipping by in 24 minutes (the longest track on here, Nightage, clocks in at 2 minutes and 22 seconds) but, similar to Danko Jones, this is a group who are simply very good at what they do and lightning fast bursts of aggression like You Make Me Sick and Baby Doncha Know. However, there's definitely a more Ramones style sense of melody here than you'd maybe expect especially on the likes of I Need Some, Mohicans and It's A Hectic World - lest we forget these songs pre-date the thrash/hardcore punk movement that the group would base their sound on through the '80s (although the likes of Grudge definitely show this tendency was already developing in their music even at this early stage). The speeded up cover of the Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over (also covered by the Rezillos around this time) is pure early Ramones as well.
The production here is pretty good as well, allowing both the power and aggression to rise to the surface without sounding as if it was recorded by a tone deaf speed freak in a tin shed - plenty of power but a bit of finesse here as well.
Overall, 9th & Walnut is more than just an interesting document showing the genesis of this seminal band, it's also a collection of songs which really stand up well in their own right over forty years on from being recorded. Definitely well worth seeking out.
NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)
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