MxPx
The Ever Passing Moment
A&M
2000
Trying to surpass a back catalogue as good as MxPx‘s is an incredibly hard job. Their past two records, ‘Life in General’ and ‘Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo,’ are two of the best pop-punk records ever made. Moving to a major label has only increased the pressure on the band to release an album that will propel them to the top of the punk tree. But Mike Herrera’s crew don’t quite manage to pull it off.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a superb album. But it just begins to sound a bit familiar by the end, with some of the middle tracks blending into one another. It’s too polished for an MxPx record too. If this was anybody but MxPx, I’d be praising them for an excellent album, but it doesn’t quite compare to their previous releases and their own high-standards.
This will probably go on and sell a shit load of copies because it’s easily the most accessible album they’ve done to date. On first listen you’ll be humming along to every single chorus, a trait that Mike Herrera has become a master of.
Album opener ‘My Life Story’ is typical MxPx, and is quite possibly one of the best MxPx songs ever. With the band, you know what you are going to get; fast and slick punk rock, and this song combines the two perfectly. Lyrically, MxPx are clever yet simple, and as always, tinge the songs with numerous Christian references.
First single, and teen anthem ‘Responsibility’ is also vintage MxPx, but then things start to go awry. The next couple of tunes are solid if unspectacular, and it’s not until ‘The Next Big Thing,’ and a sonic assault on the fickle music industry, ‘Foolish’ and ‘Unsaid,’ that the band revert to the MxPx of old. But it’s a curveball that is probably the standout track. Slowie ‘Without You’ is a heartwrenching tale of lost love, and put simply, a beautiful song.
I love MxPx, they are one of my favourite bands, but it pains me to say that this is a slight let down. It’s still a very good album though, it’s just not in comparison with their previous two releases.
Paul Savage