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Hypercaffium Spazzinate

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Hypercaffium Spazzinate
Studio album by
the Descendents
ReleasedJuly 29, 2016 (2016-07-29)
Recorded2015
StudioThe Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado; Armstrong Recording, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Whitehouse Studio, Newark, Delaware
GenrePunk rock[1][2]
Length31:01
LabelEpitaph
ProducerBill Stevenson; Stephen Egerton
Descendents chronology
Cool to Be You
(2004) 		Hypercaffium Spazzinate
(2016) 		9th & Walnut
(2021)

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.

This was their highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 chart with a peak position of number 20.

Background

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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. Guitarist Stephen Egerton revealed in July that they were recording.[3] The band recorded the tracks for the album in three different studios in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Delaware.

Lyrical themes

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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 death 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.[4]

Release

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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.[5] 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.[6] It was released to radio a day later.[7] "Without Love" was released on July 11 to streaming sites.[8] It was released to radio on July 20.[7] Hypercaffium Spazzinate was publicly made available to stream on July 21 through NPR.[9] Between September and November, the group performed headlining shows across the US.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Exclaim!7/10[1]
Punknews[11]
Rolling Stone Australia[12]

Hypercaffium Spazzinate received positive reviews. Writing for Exclaim!, Ian Gormley lauded the band's "continued relevance".[1] However, the album's title was the cause of much controversy in the UK due to the use of the word spaz: the music website Real Gone called for a boycott on the album[13] and charity group Stay Up Late started a campaign to get the album's title changed for the European market.[14]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Feel This"Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics)1:14
2."Victim of Me"Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics)1:36
3."On Paper"Alvarez1:45
4."Shameless Halo"Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics)2:05
5."No Fat Burger"Aukerman0:43
6."Testosterone"Aukerman1:22
7."Without Love"Stevenson & Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics)3:19
8."We Got Defeat"Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics)0:57
9."Smile"Aukerman3:10
10."Limiter"Aukerman2:07
11."Fighting Myself"Alvarez2:13
12."Spineless and Scarlet Red"Stevenson3:15
13."Human Being"Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics)0:40
14."Full Circle"Aukerman1:54
15."Comeback Kid"Aukerman2:18
16."Beyond the Music"Egerton (music), Stevenson (lyrics)2:23
Total length:31:01
Deluxe editions bonus tracks (taken from the Spazzhazard EP)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
17."Days of Desperation"Stevenson2:08
18."Thinkin"Alvarez2:27
19."Grindstone"Egerton (music), Alvarez (lyrics)1:03
20."Business A.U."Aukerman2:16
21."Unchanged"Egerton and Stevenson (music), Stevenson (lyrics)3:01

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

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Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 19
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 53
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 94
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 8
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 137
US Billboard 200[21] 20
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[22] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[23] 2
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[24] 14
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[25] 1
US Billboard Vinyl Albums[26] 1

References

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  1. ^ a b c Gormley, Ian (July 27, 2016). "Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Hypercaffium Spazzinate – Descendents | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Scofield, Chelsea Renee (July 3, 2015). "Descendents are recording new music". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  4. ^ "Descendents on the Virtues of Becoming Punk 'Codgers'". Rolling Stone. 17 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Descendents Played Their First Hometown Show in Almost Two Decades This Week". Noisey. Vice. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  6. ^ "Descendents – "Victim Of Me"". Stereogum. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  7. ^ a b "FMQB Airplay Archive: SubModern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  8. ^ "Descendents Rewind the Clock on 'Without Love'". 11 July 2016.
  9. ^ Heller, Jason (21 July 2016). "Review: Descendents, 'Hypercaffium Spazzinate'". NPR.
  10. ^ Ralpha, Caitlyn (June 14, 2016). "Descendents announce headlining tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". 25 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Descendents on the Virtues of Becoming Punk 'Codgers'". Rolling Stone. 17 June 2016.
  13. ^ "EDITORIAL COMMENT: Descendents – Hypercaffium Outdatum Offensium | Real Gone". www.realgonerocks.com. July 2016. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  14. ^ "Descendents 'Spazz hazard'– boycott their new LP – Stay Up Late". Stay Up Late. 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  17. ^ "Ultratop.be – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Descendents – Hypercaffium Spazzinate". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  20. ^ Chart Log UK: "CLUK Update 06.08.2016 (wk31)". UK Albums Chart. Zobbel.de. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "Descendents Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  22. ^ "Descendents Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "Descendents Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  24. ^ "Descendents Chart History (Digital Albums)".[dead link‍] Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  25. ^ "Descendents Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  26. ^ "Vinyl Albums : August 20, 2016". billboard.com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
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