Review Summary: A solid major-label debut. The second half is a little weak, but there's real potential here.
I used to have friends who liked this band, especially the singles from this album ("What's the Dilio?", "Drawing Board"),so I was surprised that when I looked it up, no review had been done for this album. This cd was in heavy rotation in my CD player my freshman year of college, some 4 years ago. After listening to it tonight for the first time in a while, I must say, I may like it more now than I did then!!
Mest, for those of you who don't know, are a pop-punk quartet from Illinois. Their name is a play on the brand of beer Milwaukee's Best. Wasting Time was their major label debut and second overall album.
This is a great album. You know it's great because I rated it 3.5, which is the same as "Great" (hardy har har). It's not exactly perfect, though. It seems to run out of gas after a little more than halfway through the album, but even the worst songs aren't so bad.
This album is pop-punk, but definitely very classic-punk/hardcore punk inspired with it's fast, 3 chord songs and "don't give a ***" attitude. If you like The Ramones or Sex Pistols and the like, it's POSSIBLE you'll like this album. So, this album has just as much in common with The Ramones as it does with Blink 182. While it's WAY more punkish than anything Blink-182 ever did, it's still a very pop-ish party album, even giving a nod to ska-punk fans on a handful of tracks.
In terms of musicianship, I don't think these guys were Beethoven or Van Halen. They don't give the impression, at least not on this album, that they knew EVERYTHING there was to know about playing their instruments. But they were able to make the most of what they did know, and there's basically two standout musicians here:
The first is singer/rhythm guitarist Tony Lavato. It is indeed his rythm that make these songs what they are, especially the fast ones. This album isn't a Ramones masterpiece, but there's some good punk chord progressions on it, and Tony's energetic performance on this album can't be ignored as he crowd surfs through your ears song after song. He's not completely without versatility. He does some interesting ska upstrokes on several tracks, and a very heartfelt intro/hook on "Drawing Board" turns it into perhaps the best song on the album.
The other star of this show is Tony's cousin, bass player Matt Lavato. Sometimes his playing comes across a bit stiff, and I don't think he's the next Flea, but the guy definitely gets into a groove. His bass lines
are very bouncy and kind of "burp" at you every here and there as he reaches for the high notes and the more accentuated notes. Sadly, much of his talent gets wasted as the guitars drown out his bass playing, but not completely. He gets his time in the spotlight on their ska songs. The slower quieter ska upstrokes allow you to hear Matt's work loud and clear and it is very enjoyable when you get to hear it.
This is a great album. Other than 50 Cent fans, there's basically something here for everyone. Fans of hardcore punk will enjoy all the fast 3 chord songs that make up most of this album, but there's also plenty of appeal to mainstream Blink 182 fans, as songs like "What's the Dilio?" and "Drawing Board" prove this band can be melodic and catchy.
