Hypercaffium Spazzinate
| Hypercaffium Spazzinate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by the Descendents | ||||
| Released | July 29, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2015–16 | |||
| Studio | The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado; Armstrong Recording, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Whitehouse Studio, Newark, Delaware | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, pop punk | |||
| Length | 31:01 | |||
| Label | Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Bill Stevenson; Stephen Egerton | |||
| Descendents chronology | ||||
| ||||
Hypercaffium Spazzinate is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released on July 29, 2016, through Epitaph Records. It is the band's first album since Cool to Be You in 2004.
Background
They released their sixth studio album Cool to Be You in 2004, and then took an extended hiatus for the band to have some time off and for singer Milo Aukerman to teach biology. In 2010, the band members reunited to play a series of live shows and work on songwriting.
In May 2015, drummer Bill Stevenson announced the band was in the process of recording demos for an upcoming album. The band recorded the tracks for the album in three different studios in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Delaware.
Lyrical themes
Hypercaffium Spazzinate addresses topics of love and relationships, getting old, needing to diet, recovering from illness, and fighting for yourself. The lead track "Feel This" was written by Karl Alvarez after the passing of his mother. "No Fat Burger" is about not being able to eat unhealthy foods without consequences. Milo Aukerman called it an update to I Like Food. "Smile" and "Comeback Kid" are about Aukerman's view on past illnesses of Bill Stevenson. "Limiter" is Aukerman's view on his child needing to take drugs for his ADHD. "Beyond the Music" is about the band being friends outside of music.[1]
Release
On April 20, 2016, at a show in the Standing Room at Hermosa Beach, California, the band premiered 6 new songs; "Shameless Halo", "Victim of Me", "Feel This", "Testosterone", "Full Circle", and "On Paper", all of which would end up on the album. They also announced they would be releasing their seventh studio album, which would be entitled Hypercaffium Spazzinate through Epitaph Records on July 29, 2016.[2] The album would be accompanied by five-track EP, Spazzhazard. "Victim of Me" was chosen to be the first single from the album, and was released on all streaming services on June 7, 2016.[3] It was released to radio a day later.[4] "Without Love" was released on July 11, 2016 to streaming sites.[5] It was released to radio on July 20.[4] Hypercaffium Spazzinate was publicly made available to stream on July 21 through NPR.[6]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [7] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[8] |
| Punknews | [9] |
| Rolling Stone Australia | [10] |
Hypercaffium Spazzinate received positive reviews. Writing for Exclaim!, Ian Gormley lauded the band's "continued relevance".[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Feel This" | Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics) | 1:14 |
| 2. | "Victim of Me" | Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics) | 1:36 |
| 3. | "On Paper" | Alvarez | 1:45 |
| 4. | "Shameless Halo" | Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics) | 2:05 |
| 5. | "No Fat Burger" | Aukerman | 0:43 |
| 6. | "Testosterone" | Aukerman | 1:22 |
| 7. | "Without Love" | Stevenson & Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics) | 3:19 |
| 8. | "We Got Defeat" | Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics) | 0:57 |
| 9. | "Smile" | Aukerman | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Limiter" | Aukerman | 2:07 |
| 11. | "Fighting Myself" | Alvarez | 2:13 |
| 12. | "Spineless and Scarlet Red" | Stevenson | 3:15 |
| 13. | "Human Being" | Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics) | 0:40 |
| 14. | "Full Circle" | Aukerman | 1:54 |
| 15. | "Comeback Kid" | Aukerman | 2:18 |
| 16. | "Beyond the Music" | Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics) | 2:23 |
Total length: |
31:01 | ||
- Deluxe editions bonus tracks (taken from the Spazzhazard EP)
| Track listing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 17. | "Days of Desperation" | Stevenson | 2:08 |
| 18. | "Thinkin" | Alvarez | 2:27 |
| 19. | "Grindstone" | Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics) | 1:03 |
| 20. | "Business A.U." | Aukerman | 2:16 |
| 21. | "Unchanged" | Egerton and Stevenson (music), Stevenson (lyrics) | 3:01 |
Personnel
|
|
Charts
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 19 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] | 53 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 94 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] | 8 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] | 56 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[16] | 137 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 20 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] | 1 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[19] | 2 |
| US Digital Albums (Billboard)[20] | 14 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[21] | 1 |
References
- ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/descendents-on-the-virtues-of-becoming-punk-codgers-20160617
- ↑ "Descendents Played Their First Hometown Show in Almost Two Decades This Week". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- ↑ "Descendents – "Victim Of Me"". Stereogum. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- 1 2 "FMQB Airplay Archive: SubModern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.spin.com/2016/07/descendents-without-love-stream/
- ↑ http://www.npr.org/2016/07/21/485840798/first-listen-descendents-hypercaffium-spazzinate
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/hypercaffium-spazzinate-mw0002952792. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - 1 2 Gormley, Ian (July 27, 2016). "Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ↑ https://www.punknews.org/review/14530/the-descendents-hypercaffium-spazzinate. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/descendents-on-the-virtues-of-becoming-punk-codgers-20160617. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- ↑ Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 06.08.2016 (wk31)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Descendents – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Descendents. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Descendents – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Descendents. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Descendents – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Descendents. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Descendents – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for Descendents. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Descendents – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Descendents. Retrieved August 9, 2016.