MxPx's new album shows uneven improvement

It's been three full years since MxPx's last full-length album, "The Ever Passing Moment," and it's been something of an uneasy wait. "Moment" was a disappointment, and to say the least, a wholly unworthy successor to the band's two previous releases.

Despite featuring a few instant classics, it was on the whole generic, watered down and sugary sweet pop-punk. To be sure, it was perfect fodder for the anti-MxPx army. The band has gotten a lot of flack since its 1992 inception: for being too Christian, for not being Christian enough, for "selling out" in 1998 and signing to A&M Records in an attempt to break out of the Christian rock umbrella; the list goes on.

Despite being incredibly solid and respectable efforts, all of MxPx's previous releases have been lacking something. And while this something is difficult to define, it might be classified as "maturity."

Perhaps it was the nature of singer/bassist Mike Herrera's overly-formulaic songwriting that had previously held the band back. While this has led to the creation of some incredible songs that set MxPx apart from the pop-punk and emo pack, it also ensured that the band always found themselves just short of greatness.

Certainly, it's difficult to imagine that MxPx could have inspired the type of freakishly loyal fan base that bands like Blink 182, Newfound Glory and Good Charlotte currently enjoy. Although they've gradually phased their religious beliefs out of their songwriting, the stigma is still (and probably always will be) present. However, "Before Everything and After" (BEA) is easily the type of album that could catapult MxPx into the spotlight that they've been chasing the past ten years.

After all, BEA represents the band's arrival into full-blown intelligence. Herrera has always written about topics familiar to the pop-punk crowd: dating, breakups and the occasional religious rant or social commentary thrown in for good measure.

This has led to an interesting yet somewhat disturbing dichotomy between many of the band's songs. While they've oft been described as "the thinking man's Blink 182," the short of it is that some MxPx songs are quite intelligent while others are just plain idiotic (though to be fair, many from the latter category are some of the band's finest).

Yet there is not one silly song on BEA that could be placed in the same category as "I'm Ok, You're Ok" or "Delores." In their places are witty, introspective and much more adult tunes. This change has been a long time coming, and the seeds of it can be seen in 1998's" Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo."

That's not to say that Herrera should be considered a poet, or that there's no hint of any of MxPx's youthful energy or playfulness. This is still very much an MxPx album. Do not expect an epic change of No Doubt or AFI-ish proportions.

Similarly, BEA is a rather large step forward musically for Herrera and bandmates Tom Wisniewski (guitar) and Yuri Ruley (drums). Ruley is and has been for quite some time recognized as a tremendously influential drummer in the punk world, but Herrera and Wisniewski's abilities have never truly found a way to shine until now.

While Herrera is by no means a Matt Freeman (bassist, Rancid) or a Dan Andriano (bassist, Alkaline Trio), he is easily one of the more underrated bassists in punk today. Wisniewski's work is deeper than ever on this release, and it's great to see that he's not content to rest on his laurels. Production duties were handled this time around by Dave Jerden, who has coaxed out of Herrera the best vocal performance of his career and done a much better job of achieving a fuller and more satisfying guitar sound.

Still, BEA is not without its faults, as minor as they may be. The tail end of the album is simply not as strong or musically adventurous as the first half. While the first seven songs are easily the best the band has ever recorded, the others, while still quite good, are moderately generic and similar to many of the band's older material.

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On a few tracks that are a bit too high for him to sing, namely "Everything Sucks (When You're Gone,)" Herrera trades his unmistakable trademark nasal vocals for something that more resembles Pierre Bouvier's high-pitched and annoying whine.

Although Herrera manages to sell this vocal style better than Bouvier, it's distressing to see him seemingly try to imitate someone else when his natural voice is so exceptional.

Moreover, BEA features guest appearances by Kris Roe (The Ataris), Jordan Pundik (Newfound Glory) and Benji Madden (Good Charlotte) (truly, the Madden twins are the most ubiquitous characters in punk today, and that's scary).

This trend of including members of other punk bands in studio recordings and videos has become so widespread that it's almost expected. It's sad, though, to see a band like MxPx that generally is so intent on doing it's own thing jump on the wagon.

Fortunately, though, neither Mark Hoppus nor Tom Delonge (Blink 182) is anywhere to be found on BEA. And in a lot of ways, that's quite indicative of what MxPx is about these days. Young punks looking for juvenile humor and lyrics should stick with Mark, Tom, Travis and the rest of their ilk. Those ready to move on to something a bit more serious and adult will find that Mike, Tom and Yuri's latest album is the perfect companion for growing up: this is punk rock for college kids.