Wallet chain, spiked hair, ripped jeans, and tattered Chuck Taylors complete with an
MxPx shirt. That’s what I wore 5/7 days of the week. I was the 2nd biggest
MxPx fanboy in my school, and 1st place went to my best friend at the time who got me into them. So come when Freshman year came rolling around, I had two things to look forward to: New girls, and a brand-spankin’ new
MxPx album. And if I had to choose between either of those two, well, forget girls then.
I made my mom go to Best Buy the day this came out and buy me this while I was football practice. And when I came home, I didn’t even bother showering, eating, or working on homework. I ripped that plastic-wrap crap right off the CD case and almost made out with it on the spot.
Now for those of you who are new to
MxPx, they’re one of the founding fathers of ‘Pop-Punk’ along with bands such as
Green Day. Catchy, unresistable hooks, slap-happy riffs, and feel-good lyrics dominate all over
MxPx’s career, not to mention for awhile they were on a Christian label. They later got ditched by the Christian label because supposedly they got caught completely trashed on their tour bus. Pretty dumb reason to ditch them, if you ask me.
“
Before Everything and After” saw the continuation of a more radio-oriented
MxPx, which was seen on “
Life in General”. While this album is still considered ‘Pop-Punk’, there seems to be more hints of Rock scattered throughout, and while many consider this to be some sort of sell-out album, I beg to differ.
What’s groovy bout this album?
-
1. The Poppy Riffs: Yes, they’re back, just like they always are. And they’re still in full force here. Tracks like “
Play it Loud”, “
Well Adjusted”, “
First Day of the Rest of Our Lives”, and “
You Make Me, Me” are all soaring songs. “
Play it Loud” is a bit of a Rocker, which is from the great bass-drum work from Yuri and Tom’s guitar throwing out split riffs locked from palm-mutes. “
Well Adjusted” is one of the highlights off the album, and draws its creativity from Yuri’s unique drum patterns and straightforward riffs. “
First Day of the Rest of Our Lives” and “
You Make Me, Me” all feel like classic
MxPx songs, with an irresistibly pop-hooked chorus and creatitivity from Tom’s guitar.
Others, like “
You’re Not Alone” are built on speed, which is surprising seeing as how it wouldn’t sound like a normal thing they would do. It’s got a rushed feel to it, and not in the sense that it was rushed when it was made. It flys all over the place, only to meet Yuri’s pounding drums. “
More Everything” and “
It’s Alright” are more Rock oriented, partly from Tom’s actually crunch-sounding guitar and blast-happy notes. But experimentation is the key here, and “
Kings of Hollywood” has it written all over it. It’s got a grooving bass line from Mike that bumps up and down only to meet by a surfer-type guitar from Tom. It’s got a nice 80’s throw-back Rock feel to it, and it’s surprisingly very relaxing.
2. Vocals and Lyrics – Strung out, high-pitched, and slightly whiney, Mike’s voice perfectly suits the genre, and more-so this band. And surprisingly, his voice is actually quite good, as it always has been. The opener, “
Play it Loud”, is a testament to this in which it features Mike wailing all over the song, carry out the last notes and ringing them out. His vocals sound the same on nearly every song, but on “
Kings of Hollywood” he talks more of a talking approach, as he tries to convince you of the good times that are yet to come. “
Everything Sucks (When You’re Gone)” has him almost crying out to you for attention. And his lyrics, while seemingly idiotic and teenish, get the job done get well. Take a look at the lyrics from “
The Capitol”: When your heart has been tied down, And thrown into the sea to drown. When the love you knew is gone, I've been with you all along.[/i]”. A little bit too cheesy for my liking, but it suits the upbeat feel of the songs more than you could think. The best lyrics, however, come off of (not surprisingly) the best track, “
Well Adjusted”, with Tom crying out “
Sorry babe, I'm not crazy. Pardon a me baby, Yo no soy loco.”
3. That goofy-looking Yuri dude on drums
- Oh yea. Short, chopped, crazy hair, thick rimmed glasses, and slightly chubby, Yuri is all machine on drums. I’ve seen
MxPx live before, and Yuri goes insane on his drum set. It’s truly a sight to watch him bang away and improvise fills, and on here, it’s no different. One listen to the intro/solo to “
Well Adjusted” and you’ll be hooked. And this time around, his bass drum gets more of a workout on songs like “
Play it Loud”, “
Your Not Alone”, and “
You Make Me, Me”, making them even more enthralling.
So what ain’t so great here then?
1. There’s a good handful of stinkers
- In the case of tweaking your sound, like in this albums case to become more radio-oriented, there’s bound to be a few bad apples. And this album is certainly no exception. Songs like “
Everything Sucks (When Your Gone)” are about as dumb as the title, and that one for a fact seems to drag on and on without taking a certain direction. Dull? You bet. “
On The Outs” is one of the slower songs on here, and doesn’t seem to fit in at all. It feels out of place, surrounded by all these high-energy pop-punk songs. “
Quit Your Life” is virtually the same way, save this time it has an overproduced acoustic guitar that’s blander than the past song I mentioned. And “
Brokenhearted” is actually ruined by Mike’s vocals. He tries to make it so melodic throughout, and the teen-love filled lyrics make me want to gag at points.
2. It all sounds the same…
- Yes, the repetitive factor comes into play on this. “
Play it Loud” and “
More Everything”, while both great songs, sound way to similar due to Tom’s guitar-work. And it doesn’t really help that Tom’s vocals sound the same on every track. Really, the only two songs that sound completely unique on this album would be the ever-so-fun “
Well Adjusted” and the 80’s rock vibed “
Kings of Hollywood”. So naturally, it’s recommended that you don’t listen to this album all in one sitting, cause you’ll have no idea what is going on since you’ll think you’re listening to one big song.
Overall
Come in thinking this is old-school
MxPx, and you’ll leave disappointed. Come in just hoping for a fun time, and you’ll leave with a smile on your face. While some of the songs sound the same, due to Tom’s guitar work and Mike’s vocals, the combined efforts of songs like “
Well Adjusted”, “
Play it Loud”, and “
Kings of Hollywood” more than make up for it. If you like
MxPx and at first hated this, give it a second chance, or if you’re looking to get into them, this doesn’t seem like that bad of a place to start. But you might be better off with “
Life in General”.
Overall – 3/5
Recommended Tracks
Play it Loud
Well Adjusted
More Everything
Kings of Hollywood
You’re Not Alone
