MxPx - Secret Weapon

I know that this album has been out for a few months, but I just started this blog so give me some slack.

I have been a MxPx fan ever since I bought Teenage Politics. Since then I have bought every album they have released. Their newest album "Secret Weapon" is not their best work, but it is certainly not their worst.

This album is full of fun, light-hearted pop-punk songs that make you want to roll down your window and drive to a nursing home where you want to bake cookies for old people all day. It is just a fund album.

The album kicks off with "Secret Weapon" which is a fun start to this new album. It is a simple song which makes you bob your head. This song is followed by "Shut It Down" which is a song about spending a little too much time with technology and not enough time with real people. This song also contains a little shout out to The Clash when you hear Mike Herrera yell over the opening guitar, "This is a public service announcement....with guitar!!!" If you do not understand this slight homage paid to a great band then I highly recommend you go out and buy Combat Rock by the Clash.

"Here's To The Life" is another high quality song that also lays on a slight spiritual feel to the album. This song seems to be about desiring to get back to the life you want to live, not the one that you end up living.

The next two tracks, "Top Of The Charts" and "Punk Rock Celebrity" are probably the two weakest songs on this album. They are a little too "poppy" for my taste. However, the next track, "Contention" is straight forward punk rock which makes you want to break something, which is ironic because the song is about how violence does not solve any problem.

"Angels" is a great song that discusses the desire to move on to a better place in eternity. "Drowning" is also a fun song that is laced with introspection.

The remaining tracks on this album seem to all have their strong points, whether it is the Rancid influenced song "Chop Shop" which is based on an actual murder that took place in the band's hometown, or Beach Boys influenced "Tightly Wound" which is probably my favorite track on the album.

I highly recommend purchasing this CD.

Songs to listen to:

-Tightly Wound

-Bass So Low

-You're On Fire

Songs to skip over:

-Punk Rock Celebrity

-Hoo-Ha Jangle

-Top Of The Charts

On a scale of one to ten:

8.5