It may be the tail end of 2006, but don't tell Evan Dando. This, the first Lemonheads album since 1996's "Car Button Cloth," feels like the early-to-mid-'90s all over again, minus the gratuitous flannel and Doc Marten boots.

Dando, who has been releasing solo, downbeat, folk albums under his own name the past few years, re-ignites The Lemonheads [ tickets ] moniker for this set, and bashes out a fast-paced pop-punk record in true Lemonheads fashion.

Not unlike Jay Farrar's 2005 Son Volt album, this is a Lemonheads project in name only, as the band is made up of Dando and two session players--although the term "session players" is used loosely here, being that said players are drummer Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and bassist Karl Alvarez (Descendents).

Co-produced by Dando and Stevenson, "The Lemonheads" tears through its 11 tracks with a reinvigorated sound sure to please old fans and new alike. And for a frontman who was once more celebrated by the media for his bone structure and hair, it's good to see the focus return to The Lemonheads' music.