Album Review

Bremerton, Washington‘s finest are back with their seventh studio album, and back on an independent label after their stint with A&M/Interscope. Panic sees the three-piece in topflight form; ten years and counting of writing great pop-punk songs has honed bassist/vocalist/songwriter Mike Herrera‘s chops to a keen edge, to the point where it‘s beginning to sound effortless. New producer Gavin MacKillop has given the band a heavier sheen - ‘The Story‘ may be the heaviest song MxPx has ever come up with, and it‘s just one highlight among many here. Through the Tooth & Nail years and onto major-label stability (or not, as was the case with A&M) and back to the indies, these Warped Tour mainstays have always told simple, everyman stories, sometimes penned deeper, introspective thoughts, and captured the confusion and sense of misplacement of their peers, whether teenaged or well into adulthood - and always come up catchy. Always. "Can I get a new head? ‘Cause the one I‘ve got is worn out and so very broken" asks ‘The Story‘, while ‘Late Again‘ answers back: "til the day I die, Lord knows I‘ll try, but I am late again" (incidentally, the latter also displays Herrera‘s dry wit: "I was late coming into this world/I‘ll be late going out/I was late trying to put this record out").

There‘s a sense of urgency to Panic that fits the album title, though there are exceptions (see below). Its predecessor, Before Everything and After, aside from featuring guest vocals from the likes of Good Charlotte‘s Joel Madden (points against it), simply wasn‘t that inspiring a piece of work; MxPx had set the bar higher for themselves in years past, and this is a rebound to form. "I‘m spent, and I hate feeling so used, and I hate my attitude," goes ‘Call In Sick‘: "I‘ve gotten lost along the way." It appears they‘ve regained what was missing from their last outing. Oh, and the exceptions mentioned? ‘Wrecking Hotel Rooms‘, a quaint ditty with some truly well-done background harmonies from Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus (who co-wrote the song) and ‘Late Again‘, a rousing two-minute Dropkick Murphys-esque shanty with a countrified twist, are proof positive that Herrera can write pretty much any kind of song within the confines of his chosen genre and make it sound natural. His vocals have never sounded better, the backing vocals are dead-on (love the unexpected gang chants on ‘Cold Streets‘!), and instrumentally, the band have pretty much mastered the fine art of giving each song exactly what it needs. Power, tempo - these gentlemen have it knocked.

With the always dependable guitar work of Tom Wisnewski and the simple, rocksteady drumming Yuri Ruley has provided since the band‘s inception, not to mention the high-profile guests (another of whom, former Mighty Mighty Bosstones member Joe Gittleman, co-wrote ‘Heard That Sound‘, yet another highlight track), MxPx continue to prove they‘re on the very top shelf of pop-punk stardom.

[SideOneDummy]

- Mike Postma

Copyright ©2005