by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The times change, but All stays the same. Ten years into their career, the descendents of the Descendents are keeping true to their post-hardcore punk roots, turning out an album that sounds a lot like all their other records. On the surface, Mass Nerder sounds like all their other records, and there isn't much underneath the surface, either -- it's just straight-ahead, loud, reasonably catchy hardcore punk. Surprisingly, the band isn't losing much of their power as they get older, which mean rants like "Greedy" and "The World's on Heroin" are just as effective as anything on Allroy Saves, but they also have a tendency to turn out dreck like "Life on the Road" and "Romantic Junkie." Still, those songs aren't enough to hamper an otherwise solid All album.