MxPx - Left coast punk EP

Two years after their return to Tooth & Nail with their eighth full-length 'Secret weapon', MxPx bring some new material (that isn't covers) to their fans with 'Left coast punk EP'.

Some old fans who lost faith in the Bremerton trio because of the softer turn taken several years ago may be satisfied with the punk-rock orientation of this new EP. It shows us a side of the band we hadn't seen for quite some time. 'One step further' lays the cards on the table: the bass and the guitar provide such an immediate fast pace to the song that it honestly surprised me a bit. It reminded me of 'Time will tell' from the 'Renaissance EP' they released in 2001. For quite some time, I told you. They don't slow down with 'Desperate to understand', which intro riff is very, very reminiscent of the one opening Propagandhi's 'Speculative fiction'... Rip-off or coincidence, anyway MxPx haven't rocked that hard in a while. Mike Herrera tickles his bass like he's covering NOFX songs and drummer Yuri Ruley plays faster and harder than he has in the last ten years or so. Herrera even trades vocals with guitarist Tom Wisniewski ('Shangaie in Shangai'), which I feel last happened forever ago. It's classic MxPx skate-punk, which also implies very short verses leading to repetitive choruses. It's what generally pushes me away with their songs, and it's especially true on 'Broken', which is actually slower and darker, in the style of 2005's 'Panic'. The pop-punk frontier is finally crossed on 'Hopeless case', a song about God being the only hope when everything falls apart, and 'End', which starts acoustically. They unfortunately close the record on a more boring and less convincing way. The EP contains four other songs on physical copy, which are three instrumentals and one unreleased demo.

'Left coast punk EP' could be seen as a return to basics for MxPx fans. The sound is rawer, faster and reminiscent of their older material. It is more dynamic than their latest productions, even though half of the songs are still catchy pop-punk. I'm not totally convinced by the melodies but this EP may be a sign of good things to come.

3.5/5

Recommanded if you like:
NOFX, No Use For A Name, Fenix TX
Check also:
Tumbledown, The Cootees, Dogwood

www.myspace.com/mxpx
(Rock City Recording Company, 2009)