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Album • Mike
Herrera, Yuri Ruley, and Tom Wisniewski
of MxPx discuss their recently released
album Panic during a break at the Vans
Warped Tour. Panic was released earlier
this month. Matt Logan / Online
Forty-Niner
MxPx’s
new release puts fans in a Panic
By
Matt Logan
Online Forty-Niner
Staff writer
It’s strange how life works out sometimes. MxPx has outlasted bands they
used to open for, such as the Descendents and Face to Face.
They have fought for it all the way and, after being together for 13 years, they
have released
their eighth full-length record, Panic.
“The name of the album draws a parallel to our current surroundings,” said
lead vocalist and bassist Mike Herrera. “We’re living in the middle
of a war, there are natural disasters happening around us, all these people dying
constantly, there really is a lot of panic out there. Something like Sept. 11
happens and years later here we are, people kinda forget about it. We just wanted
to comment on that.
We really had to make people believe that this is an urgent record. This isn’t
just another MxPx album, this is an album that matters,” said Herrera.
The first track on the album “The Darkest Places,” talks about the
current state of America and about anxieties we all experience. This song attacks
our personal and national fears head on.
This album sounds more like punk rock should, like back when punk wasn’t
watered down and full of easily marketable pop sounds. There are old school influences
in this record that make it jump out of the stereo with song intros and riffs
sounding like early Bad Religion or the Germs.
Having been on three recording labels — Tooth and Nail, A&M and now
Side One Dummy — they have continued to stay above water for the past 13
years through all the fast changing trends of the scene. That is quite a stunt
for any band, let alone a three-piece punk band from Bremerton, Wash. whose first
demo tape was recorded in Herrera’s sister’s bedroom.
For their eighth record they had to step it up a notch. It was sink or swim time
for Magnified Plaid (their original band name, later shortened to MxPx), so they
went to the recording studio in an attempt to capture the rawness of a live show.
Three weeks later they emerged from the studio with an amazing record. If you
haven’t already picked up the album, be sure to check it out. |
