Half-hour of free Descendents therapy

The first Descendents album since 2004’s Cool to Be You blasts out of the gates with a pristine five-song run of classic ‘Dents goodness. The cream of the crop is “Victim of Me,” an 97-second wonder from a band that writes some of the best pop songs ever crafted in the sub-two-minute category.

The initial five tracks feature all the current ‘Dents trading off lyrical and songwriting duties before the remainder of the album falls primarily into the hands of longtime (and once off-to-college) vocalist Milo Aukerman and drummer Bill Stevenson. As a result, the remaining two/thirds of the album tends to bounce back and forth between Stevenson’s Beach Boys–tinged pop (“Without Love,” “Fighting Myself”) and Aukerman’s heavy-hitters (“Limiter,” “Full Circle”). It’s a little more streamlined, and doesn’t reach the consistent highs of the first third. Similar to both of their prior albums, the band’s prog-rock excursions (see: “Van” and “All-O-Gistics”) are absent on this outing. Perhaps one or two of these could have added some nice variety to the tail end of the disc.

A notable mid-album treat is Aukerman’s “Smile” — a catchy anthem that he wrote to raise the spirits of his longtime buddy, Stevenson. It’s this album’s “Pep Talk” (off of 1987’s ALL) or “We” (from 1996’s Everything Sux).

For years people have tried to decipher the appeal of Milo Aukerman. Besides Descendents albums, his cartoon likeness can be found tattooed on body parts worldwide. Perhaps it’s not only a tribute to the fans’ favorite singer, but their free therapist as well.

• Artist: Descendents
• Album: Hypercaffium Spazzinate
• Label: Epitaph
• Songs: (1) Feel This (2) Victim of Me (3) On Paper (4) Shameless Halo (5) No Fat Burger (6) Testosterone (7) Without Love (8) We Got Defeat (9) Smile (10) Limiter (11) Fighting Myself (12) Spineless and Scarlett Red (13) Human Being (14) Full Circle (15) Comeback Kid (16) Beyond the Music