MxPx
The Ever Passing Moment

THE REVIEW

MxPx enter the new millennium with this "The Ever Passing Moment," their fifth studio album from the Bremerton, Washington combo. Produced under the aegis of SideOne Dummy Records, the album contains 15 tracks of pure melodic punk fairly consistent with each other.

The opener, as usual, proves to be a great hit to hum along to and sufficiently summarizing their sound, including "My Life Story," which joins anthems like "Darkest Places" and "Secret Weapon." Greater speed is found in "Education Guess." Meanwhile, the best track of the collection seems to be the driving and contagious energy of "Foolish." On the other hand, "Next Big Thing" turns out to be monotonous and predictable, while the closing with "Misplaced" is not bad, characterized by the choppy rhythm of the guitars.

Now, considering what came out in the market that year and period in terms of mainstream (see "All Killer No Filler" by Sum 41 and "Enema Of The State"), here we are definitely at a higher level. Naturally, about a step and a half above the aforementioned works, but clearly below both the gem "Pennybridge Pioneers" by Millencolin and the originality present in "From Here To Infirmary" by Alkaline Trio, which undoubtedly remain the major expressions of the genre in recent years.

It can be said that it's a classic MxPx album with all its pros and cons, always very catchy and fun. However, it might have been appropriate to remove a few tracks to make the whole more compact and fluid, reaching a total of 12/13 pieces.

Despite all this, while not bringing anything new, the album listens quite well. Recommended for a carefree listen and to spend 40 minutes in a relaxed and cheerful manner, shaking off all daily worries. Despite everything, among recent albums, the last two "Panic" and "Secret Weapon" still remain superior.