Album Review: 9th & Walnut by Descendents

It's a shame that Descendents put off finishing 9th & Walnut for so long, as an album this focused and snotty would have surely launched a killer second act for these SoCal punk pioneers. Recorded in 2002, vocalist Milo Aukerman and drummer Bill Stevenson brought back guitarist Frank Navetta and bassist Tony Lombardo to record an entire album based on songs written before the release of their immortal 1982 debut, Milo Goes to College. With Navetta's passing in 2008, the band halted their years-long sessions, leaving most of the tracks unfinished before Aukerman added the final vocals to these 18 tracks in 2020.

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The first Descendents album since 2016's excellent Hypercaffium Spazzinate is not the long-awaited follow-up of new material that they're currently working on, but instead older recordings made in 2002 and 2004 of material originally written, rehearsed, and played live by the band in their early years (1977-1980). Hence, the lineup on this is the same one that made their debut 7-inch "Ride the Wild" b/w "It's a Hectic World," 1980's '"Fat" 7'-inch, and the 1982 stone-cold classic debut LP, Milo Goes to College. Confused? Well that is okay, but regardless, it's always a treat to hear singer Milo Aukerman and drummer Bill Stevenson backed by the now late original guitarist Frank Navetta and original bassist Tony Lombrado, as they have a totally unique sound not really heard on any subsequent Descendents records.

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