Panic [Import]

MxPx have the kind of following most bands would dream of having after playing together for so many years. They have hit every possible spectrum in their 10+ years on the music scene. They've played almost every style of punk you could imagine. Most would mention how their last two albums catered more toward a wider audience but what you really should mention is how they gained the respect that they did and that was with their honest lyrics and cool as hell guitar riffs. I own every record and have come to expect a little less from my three favorite punks as the years have gone by and I was so dissapointed that their last record did not garner them the fame they so sorely deserve. Say what you want about that record but it should have sold triple platinum and put these boys on top. If anyone deserves it,it's them.To say the least, they didn't hit it big and now they have changed record labels and seem to be less interested in getting the attention of the kinds of fans that don't stick around for longer than an album or two.

So this leaves us with MxPx as we know them today and the boys well...we've this heard sound before and you either already love it or you are bored of it. This will probably be praised as their "return to their punk roots" and yes this has less pop catchy tunes and alot more faster drumming and guitar riffs. I still can't help but feel that the band is no longer taking chances and alot of what they play sounds strangely familiar to the other hundreds of songs they've written over the years. With Green Day reinventing Punk Rock as we know it, bands like MxPx unfortunately sound like it's the same ol' sound over and over again.

If you're already ready to push that "did not help" button under this review, well relax. It's still a good record full of everything we love and the lyrics have vastly improved from their last record which was full of way too many love songs. And this time around I have no problem relating to their lyrics about life and trying to live with living. They still remain my favorite punk trio and they never cease to rock my socks. This is the album that should have followed "Slowly going the way of the Buffalo". It feels more like a natural progression of their work from that album instead of the kind of songs found in "The Ever Passing Moment" and "Before Everything & After". The good news is that this is the MxPx we love and the bad news is that this is the MxPx that we love. How you take that, is up to you.

MXPX has always managed to change their sound with every album (and I would suggest that this is a good thing --though they've probably lost as many fans as they've gained because of it). Unfortunately, their last album (BEFORE EVERYTHING & AFTER) was a change for the worse: recorded over a 3 month period and cram-packed with every bell and whistle you could think to shake a stick at, resulting in a cookie-cutter pop-rock album that was bound to disappoint. However, PANIC, which was recorded in 22 days, is both a step forward (with more intricate guitar, bass, and drum work) and a step back (bringing some of their older and heavier sound back into the mix). When all is said and done, PANIC should rejuvenate the public's faith in the 3 boys from Bremerton. At the very least, it makes up for BEAA.

MxPx has been around on the punk scene for some time now, starting in the early to mid 90's, but only in the past few years have their songs gotten any national press. However, with the release of Panic, MxPx has shined up and perhaps even pepped up enough for mass consumption to boost them completely in the mainstream.

For instance, their first single (college radio single for sure), is a relatively repetitive, although still quite entertaining song, called "Heard That Sound". This is not the only song like this on the album though, as many of the other songs lack the drive that early MxPx albums had, such as `Young and Depressed' (most likely the second single.)

Still though, even with MxPx's gradual conversion (along with a lot of punk bands) to a more popular and pleasing sound, they still present a good album. Because although this is not the MxPx of old, for better or worse, many would never have heard of them if not for their new polish and recent acclaim.