After a relatively quiet spell, MxPx have been churning out releases left, right and centre over the last 12 months. And while none of their new records have matched up to their 'Slowly Going...' or 'Life In General' era material, 'Panic' was a little better than the atrocious 'Before, Everything and After'. With Tooth and Nail about to re-release 'Let It Happen' with a set of spangly extras, Side One Dummy have also got in on the pre-Christmas re-release act by putting together a collection of rare/previously unreleased MxPx tracks. And while most are rare/previously unreleased for a reason, there are a few hidden gems in here, making this worthy of checking out.
It's certainly not on a par with their classic albums, but 'Let's Rock' has enough appeal to warrant fans splashing out their hard earned cash. Featuring tracks from the 'Ever Passing Moment' sessions, as well as songs from the 'Broken Bones' 7", this album spans quite a large chunk of MxPx's career. And the shift is relatively noticeable as you listen to this album. 'Breathe Deep', the album's lead track, is one of the best songs the band have released in a while, mixing the urgency that I love about MxPx with the backing keys and pop melodies they've moved towards in recent years. As usual, it's the quicker and 'harder' tracks which stick out on this album. Yuri's fast drumming on 'Every Light' is a real standout and would have lit up either of the last two albums, while '1in3' and 'Make Up Your Mind' are both strong.
The second half of the album is nowhere near as strong as the first, but isn't quite a right-off. 'Slowride' is a little slower, yet distinctively MxPx, 'Where Did You Go?' is a little bit turgid and not a direction which suits the band, while tacking three acoustic tracks on the end of the album smacks ever-so-slightly of running out of ideas. That said, the closing cover of 'You Walk, I Run' is actually quite good. Fans of MxPx will inevitably pick this up anyway, but the good news is that it's worthy of your cash. It's not the best MxPx release ever, not really close to be honest, but it's good enough to tide you over until the 'Let It Happen' re-release - and possibly a new album too.
