Mike Herrera (MxPx) decided to start up his own label with
some friends a while ago and he was not the first punk rock singer to take this
step. Fat Mike (NoFX) started Fat Wreck Chords and Dexter Holland (the
Offspring) and and Joey, Lagwagon's lead-singer (My Records) did the same. It's
a chance for them to develop as a producer and a chance for young, talented
bands to show their qualities. The first record on Rock City is a side-project
of the members of MxPx in combination with another bass player. Mike and Tom
both play guitar on this album, although all the members of the band use their
second name in the inlay of the album (hence the name Arthur, Mike's full name
is Michael Arthur Herrera). Lead-singer Mike Herrera wrote all the songs for
this 6-song EP, so expect the specific MxPx-lyrics about girls and parties. As
for the music, this record shows the progression of MxPx during the years as
musicians, so the songs are a bit more complicated than the older MxPx-albums.
The songs are not as fast as the up-tempo punk rawk we know from MxPx.
The best way for me to describe Arthur's style is: Imagine
the 80's punk icons Social Distortion and The Clash jamming together and then
you might know a little bit about the way this band sounds. The combination of
Mike Herrera's wonderful voice (like Social Distortion's Mike Ness) and the
mid-tempo power pop is quite tasty, to be honest, and I really love all the 6
songs on this album. They all have that typical emo-feel in it, but track 5,
"All My Life", is absolutely my favorite track. I don't remember an
MxPx-track with such a clear message: Arthur seems to be more Christian in the
lyrics on this album, which is a good thing, I think. Don't get me wrong: I
totally appreciate everything these 3 guys have done in the past, but it's just
very awesome to hear them sing about God in such a way!!
However, I think this is a must-have for all the true MxPx-fans...
Check out their new 7" too, by the way, or listen to two new songs from the
up-coming album "The Ever Passing Moment" on the official mxpx-website
mxpx.com !
Karel
Smouter
for