7 Seconds

The last bastion of optimism in an angry scene, 7 Seconds remains largely upbeat after two decades. The Reno, Nevada-based band's early albums combined hardcore's blizzard velocity with earnest vocals to create simple rants ("Racism Sucks") about bullies, substance abuse and sexism. Like the similarly strident Minor Threat, which eventually became Fugazi, 7 Seconds progressed into a postpunk project, though it kept the same name and started sucking. Things bottomed out with 1993's grunge record Out the Shizzy, but the group got its ill-fated ambitions out of its system and returned to its roots. True to his "Young 'til I Die" pledge, singer Kevin Seconds still sounds like a politely rebellious teen. However, the band's new Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over, which stuffs 17 tracks into 28 minutes, hints at budding cynicism: Where is the danger in Hot Topic city ... You say I'm bitter, I'm just jealous/I just resent my lack of success. Kevin, dude, stay posi!