9th & Walnut
| Descendents
9th & Walnut
th & Walnut is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released on July 23, 2021, through Epitaph Records. Recorded over two time periods (first in 2002, and again in 2020), the album contains eighteen songs that were written by the band between 1977 and 1980 but never released before, as well as re-recordings of their earlier songs "Ride the Wild" and "It's a Hectic World". It also marks the first time since Everything Sucks, that the "classic" lineup of Milo Aukerman, Frank Navetta, Tony Lombardo, and Bill Stevenson had recorded anything together. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Pitchfork
The veteran California band reconstructs some of its earliest material for an unusual sort of lost album that captures an ephemeral moment in punk history.
-
Cryptic Rock
Overall, quite strong collection, recommended standouts include “Tired of Being Tired,” “Lullaby,” and “Ride the Wild.” Forty-four years have passed since their formation, but Descendents do not show signs of slowing down. In fact, 9th & Walnut is proof that the band is yet to lose its sense of melody, direction, and fun.
-
The Young Folks
Descendents’ feel-good punk is void of nuance, but still fun.
-
Wall of Sound
9th & Walnut is not the album to introduce your friends to Descendents, unless they have a specific predilection for late 1970s punk rock. However for fans, it is an interesting retrospective of what the band was and how much they have changed. Even then, unless you’re a die hard fan, I would be surprised if this was on your high rotation list, as 9th & Walnut is very much a representation of a particular time and place and not the best of what Descendents can do.
-
AV Club
9th & Walnut isn’t the best Descendents record. But it does give fans an essential part of the band that went unheard over the last four decades.
-
Original Rock
Buckle up babies, it’s a bumpy ride, but on the corner of 9th and Walnut you’ll be Punk in Drublic and you’ll be right at home.
-
Northern Transmissions
It’s undoubtedly exciting to hold up the Holy Grail—to feel the weight of its legacy; to marvel at its craftsmanship—but artifacts don’t often come up in perfect condition. But even while parts of 9th & Walnut still pang with the more complicated aspects of Descendents’ history, hearing these lost songs is nevertheless a triumph in and of itself.
-
All Music
While this is a loving tribute to Frank Navetta (who died in 2008), if you were hoping for more of the subtle but genuine forward growth the band has shown on later-day albums like Cool to Be You and Hypercaffium Spazzinate, what you get instead is a journey into the past, with all the good and bad that phrase implies.
-
Kerrang!
9th & Walnut is a thick slab of high energy enthusiasm and mid-level accomplishments. At no point is it bad, and sometimes it’s rather good, but nothing here is particularly essential. The Descendents’ truly great work would come later, and be released earlier.
-
Distorted Sound Magazine
9th & Walnut is a special album and one that encapsulates and brings together not only a whole chunk of the history of DESCENDENTS but just what it is about the band’s music that makes it sound so special and why it is treasured by a whole host of fans and bands alike.
-
Silent Radio
Although this record certainly won’t set the world alight, it’s a fine edition for any big fan of the band, or any music fans interested in the early So-Cal Punk scene.
-
Hysteria Magazine
Aside from the Fat EP, 9th & Walnut is the only other Descendents release to feature the classic Descendents line-up–Aukerman/Navetta (RIP)/Lombardo/Stevenson–that recorded one of the most influential pop-punk/hardcore albums of all time: Milo Goes To College. A reinvigorated sonic time capsule well worth digging up.
-
XS Noize
9th & Walnut will give Descendents fans what they have come to expect from the band. It would probably be best for newcomers to start with Milo Goes to College, or I Don’t Want to Grow Up and then work your way up to here.
-
Punk Rock Theory
It all makes ‘9th & Walnut’ fascinating in a time capsule kinda way. Not their best output, but still plenty of fun to discover.
-
Spectrum Culture
Inevitably, the album doesn’t have the same spark of the Descendents at their best. But the real surprise is that it works better than it has any right to.
-
Exclaim!
While 9th & Walnut ranks among Descendents' best work, circumstances have made it more of a capsule in time than a harbinger of future classics from the band.
-
Under the Radar Magazine
All in all, this is an absolute treat for old fans or those who just love this style.
-
Treblezine
9th & Walnut is a bracing triple-shot of a musical history lesson.
-
Live4ever
Sometimes you want your face ripped off, others you want to remember why you are who you are. 9th & Walnut arrives as a forty-year-old baby, crying and laughing at the same time. It’s not revenge, but it still sounds good served cold.
-
QRO Magazine
In some ways, 9th & Walnut might be a bit of a cheat, recruiting the ‘classic line-up’ by dredging up recordings two decades old – of songs written four decades ago. But it’s a revival of how purely enjoyable punk rock had been, and can be.
-
The Hard Times
I want you to sing all these Descendents songs. Sing them loud, just don’t record yourself and don’t let my brother find the tape.
-
The Rock Fix
Taking everything into consideration, I have to say this isn’t the band’s best work. As much as I like the more raw punk feel, I can’t help but feel that it comes across as extremely dated. Couple that with the fact that the guitar parts sound like the instrument is completely out of tune on most tracks, you have a prime example of a disappointing release. I’m sure this will appease some fans however, I really don’t think this album lives up to the 5 years wait.
-
Riff Magazine
Overall, 9th & Walnut delivers a package most fans of bands who’ve been around a few decades wish they could have: new music from their favorite artists in their prime. Descendents have delivered a captivating time capsule that’s been sitting on the back-burner.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments