Grapthar's Daily Hive Music Feature: Descendents

Descendents - Clean Sheets

Descendents are one of the most

Descendents performing live

important of the American punk bands, who helped create a sound that has been emulated by countless other musicians. I first discovered them in high school, and have been a fan ever since; I find myself constantly revisiting their discography, particularly the albums from the '80s, though in recent years their more recent stuff has really grown on me. The band was formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, CA by Frank Navetta, Tony Lombardo and Bill Stevenson, who then recruited Milo Aukerman for vocals to round out the original line-up. In the mid '80s, Navetta and Lombardo were replaced by Karl Alvarez and Stephen Egerton, who helped to shape the more technical, almost proggy sound the band created at the time, and were members of All, which was essentially late '80s Descendents without Milo, as he went off to attend college.

Listen to Clean Sheets by Descendents here...

The band's early material was very fast, like a lot of the

Descendents, All (1987, SST Records)

hardcore punk in the US at the time, but they also were willing to incorporate poppier ideas, and teen-love-song lyrics, which has given them the title of the first 'pop punk' band, though their sound was nothing like what that genre became in the '90s. However, as the '80s rolled on and the band gained two new members, their sound evolved, and they began writing much more technical songs, which still had an element of punk in them. This song is from the band's 1987 album All, which is the perfect example of this amalgamation. I often refer to this album as "prog punk". This song is one of two more 'straight forward', poppy songs on the album, but still shows off the abilities of the players, as the chord progression are much more than a typical punk progression, and the lead parts are really interesting and inventive. It's also a nice little reprieve between two SUPER technical, wild songs, which helps the pacing of the album.