MxPx

Before Everything and After (A&M)
by Lauren Bussard

I was all set to say that Before Everything & After was nothing but a mediocre imitation of every other CD MxPx has already released. Essentially something you could take or leave, kind of like those crappy free t-shirts you get for opening a new bank account. I thought that even though I liked this new album, I just liked the old ones more… maybe because their fast, goofy pop-punk just seemed like more of a novelty back then.

However, I listened to the CD a couple more times and it grew on me like ear hair on an old man. I couldn’t stop listening to the happy-go-lucky sing-along lyrics of “Well-Adjusted” and the infectious beat of “You Make Me, Me.” Then I realized who the mysterious background vocals on some of the tracks belonged to – pop-punk all-stars Benji Madden, Jordan Pundik, and Kris Roe (of Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and The Ataris, respectively, duh) – and it was the icing on the cake.

Clearly, with this album, MXPX has once again worked the same magic that has kept them going strong for the past 10 years. Hell, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
(www.mxpx.com)