The legendary Southern California punk rockers the Adolescents are still rockin’ with their most recent release La Vendetta…, but this album shows that have taken a pretty noticeable turn with their sound especially when you compare it their self-titled record from 1981.

This time around they seem to have gone in a more punk-influenced rock band route, rather than continuing their straight, minimalist punk sound. You can really hear this sonic change in sings like “Double Down” and “Fukushima Lemon Twist” where the band heads more towards mature rock and roll instrumentation with guitar solos clearly taken out of the ’80s hair metal era that are filled with screaming bends and harmonics, fast pull-offs, and big bends that are backed up by a wall of distorted power chords and in-your-face drums.

Believe it or not the Adolescents actually manage to go further away from their punk rock comfort zone and move towards a more blues-based vibe with the tune “Silent Water” half way through the album. This song has a much slower tempo and sounds a lot more like a blues jam session because of the slick guitar fills and solos through out the song. The backing vocals are lot more lose and relaxed, which contrast pretty well with long-time, lead singer Tony Reflex’ s tighter and very higher-pitched voice.

There are few tracks on La Vendetta… though, where you can definitely hear that the Adolescents have stuck to their SoCal punk roots with songs like “Last Laugh,” “Formula 13” and “Ricochet Heart.” The song “Last Laugh” is based on a straight to the point chord progression and a fairly simple yet ominous, high note guitar riff. There is lots of repetition in the lyrics of chorus that are complemented by a mixture of different vocals harmonies. It’s fairly reminiscent of their tune “Amoeba,” one of the most famous songs in the bands catalogue.

La Vendetta… has a total of sixteen tracks on it and I have to admit that a little more than half-way through I found the songs to be blurring together and the overall album to drag a bit and grow tired by the end. It could have been a ten or twelve-song album and it would have been the same or maybe even better. That being said, this is a fun and high-energy and high-intensity album that will bring a lot of nostalgia for long-time fans of the band and hopefully introduce the Adolescents to a whole new generation of punk rockers.