I’m not sure if live DVDs, documentaries and acoustic Cds are a sign of a struggling band milking their fans for all they’re worth, or a band just trying to do something a bit different. MxPx has certainly paid their dues – the Bremerton trio have been on the go for 12 years now and seem unlikely to let up any time soon. Their recent musical output may have been disappointing to say the least, but with an album, acoustic CD and DVD released in the space of a year, you cannot fault them for being prolific. But it’s quality, not quantity, that counts and on that front MxPx has been lacking in 2004. ‘B-Movie‘ combines a DVD, choc-full of the band pissing about and a smattering of live footage, with a 5-track acoustic CD. Whilst long-term fans, like myself, will certainly have more than a passing interest in this release, the actual end product smacks of ‘why bother?’
I’m a big MxPx, let me get that straight, but this appears to be a half-hearted effort. The DVD itself, while well short for what there is, has very few special features and is really just a 45-minute documentary with half a dozen live songs. Whilst these are well captured there simply aren’t enough of them to make the live section of this release worthwhile. Even the songs that are included are questionable. Admittedly MxPx do have a lot of songs to choose from, and have a new record to promote, but missing out the bulk of their ‘hits’ in favour of a variety of duffers is odd. Even more odd is that the live songs were recorded over a three-night period, when the band played over 50 different songs – yet just five make it on to the DVD. The documentary is interesting enough to watch once, but to be fair it’s hardly inspiring stuff and you could mistake their japanese adventures, or rules of the tour bus, for any touring band.
The acoustic CD is better, but again isn’t essential listening. There are two new songs which follow similar structures to the songs from the last album, although it’s ‘Invitation To Understanding’ that is far and away their best effort on this CD. And that’s a new version of an old song – I think that says it all to be honest. The last couple of MxPx releases have been disappointing. It must be frustrating for them, having seen bands such as Mest and Good Charlotte go from opening at their shows to multi-million selling artists, but their attempts to go down the more melodic route has alienated old-skool fans. This DVD should serve as a reminder that MxPx were one of the best pop-punk of the 90s. Instead it’s just a glorified advert for a poor new album – and that’s a great shame.
www.mxpx.com
Side One Dummy
Paul