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MxPx - Plans Within Plans - Printable Version

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MxPx - Plans Within Plans - Music Head - 05-04-2012

online listen
new for me but looks like they've been around awhile
early Green Day, Blink
too frantic for me
my foot coudn't keep up
now have restless foot syndrome
1.3 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic

from the album - Far Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuHxxSKRCks

released Apr 3rd, 2012

[Image: r80145u7c73.jpg]

Bio - from allmusic

The Christian-themed punk-pop outfit MxPx formed in 1993 in Bremerton, WA. Originally dubbed Magnified Plaid, the
group launched while its three members -- vocalist/bassist Mike Herrera, drummer Yuri Ruley, and guitarist Andy
Husted -- were still attending high school. The moniker was later shortened to MxPx after Ruley abbreviated the
name on some show flyers; poor handwriting saw the periods being interpreted as x's instead, and the name stuck.
Wielding an energetic sound that was inspired by the Descendents, NOFX, the group's own Christian faith, and
California's skateboard culture, the band wasted little time attracting a local following.

By the time Ruley and his bandmates received their driver's licenses, the trio had already released several 7"
singles and a debut album, Pokinatcha, for Tooth & Nail Records in 1994. It quickly became the label's best-seller
and prompted the release of the band's sophomore effort, Teenage Politics, late the next year. By this time, Husted
had been replaced by guitarist Tom Wisniewski, and the group quickly followed the release of Teenage Politics with
a short collection of cover songs entitled On the Cover. Popular with the skate/surf community as well as the punk
underground (with a snowboard sponsorship to their name), MxPx ultimately broke out of the underground in 1996 with
their classic third LP, Life in General. The album included such fan favorites as "Chick Magnet" and "Move to
Bremerton."

Though dubbed a Christian punk band, religious themes were never an overbearingly dominant force in the band's
songs, as they usually relied on such universal themes as growing up. Furthermore, as MxPx progressed in their
career, their songs gravitated toward the secular side of things even further. Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo,
the band's debut for major label A&M, appeared in 1998. That fall, they also released the compilation album Let It
Happen on their old Tooth & Nail label; the odds-and-sods collection contained B-sides, demos, and other stray
tracks. The live recording At the Show showed MxPx's ability to re-create their spunky music in concert, and The
Broken Bones EP appeared 2000 before their next full-length, The Ever Passing Moment, arrived in the spring.

Another effort, The Renaissance EP, was followed two years later with the band's first greatest-hits release, Ten
Years and Running. Their next official studio effort came in the form of 2003's Before Everything & After, an album
that alienated some fans with its slick, pop-oriented nature. Late 2004 saw the release of a career retrospective
DVD, B-Movie, and the guys passed the following summer by returning to the Vans Warped Tour. MxPx then returned to
form (and back to the indie leagues) with their seventh studio album, Panic, which surfaced in June 2005 on the
Side One Dummy label. MxPx spent summer 2006 on the road with ska-punkers Reel Big Fish before dropping their next
record, Let's Rock, that October. Let's Rock was comprised of previously unreleased tracks from recording sessions
dating back to 2000. The next month, Tooth & Nail reissued a deluxe version of MxPx's 1998 rarities compilation Let
It Happen, including a bonus DVD and several unreleased songs.

MxPx then confirmed in early 2007 that they had re-signed with Tooth & Nail with the intention of releasing their
new album that summer, and release it they did, with Secret Weapon hitting stores in the middle of that year. They
remained on the roster for the 2009 release of On the Cover II, another covers album that paid tribute to the
band's early days while showing appreciation for the likes of the Clash, Ramones, and the Go-Go's. Late that year,
MxPx issued the EP Left Coast Punk on their own label, Rock City Recording Company; for the holidays, they issued
Punk Rawk Christmas digitally and in several limited-edition packages. MxPx marked their 20th anniversary with
ninth studio album Plans Within Plans, which arrived in spring 2012 for the Rock City label.

Album Review - from allmusic

Joining the pantheon of similar-minded, enduring bands like Bad Religion, Green Day, and NOFX, pop-punk trio MxPx
mark their 20th anniversary with the energized Plans Within Plans. The lineup of Bremerton, Washington fellas --
singer/bassist Mike Herrera, guitarist Tom Wisniewski, and drummer Yuri Riley -- hold steady and pick up where
their last studio album, Secret Weapon, left off. And though it's been five years since that record's release, the
sound is as seamless as a couple of long separated friends recently reunited. But of course a lot can still change
in five years, so in contrast to Secret Weapon, Plans Within Plans finds the trio growing past the girl
trouble/post-college era angst/scene-reporting inspiration pool, instead addressing the plight of the working stiff
with the bass grooving "The Times," searching for inspiration on the anthemic, minor chord-driven "Nothing's Gonna
Change," and of course looking back at those earlier years but remaining hopeful about the future in "Best of
Times," a reflective midtempo rocker that would make good mixtape company alongside the Maine's "Like We Did
(Windows Down)" from 2011. Engineered by Herrera and mixed and mastered by Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton
(who also lent his musical chops to "Far Away" and "In the Past"), Plans Within Plans moves from MxPx's straight-
ahead punk roots (the fiery first single "Far Away" is probably the best pick for longtime fans) to thrashy
skatepunk ("Inside Out") and poppier moments (empowering opener "Aces Up"), joining together lyrics that show the
band at their most mature -- look no further than the final lines of "Best of Times": "'Cause we're growing up and
all that it takes/Is looking forward to better days." Ultimately, Plans Within Plans manages to stay true to MxPx's
scruffy roots while gracefully transitioning into a new age bracket, especially relatable for fans who've been
along for the ride with them for years.

Track Listing

1. Aces Up
2. Screw Loose
3. Nothing Left
4. The Times
5. In the Past
6. Best of Times
7. Stay on Your Feet
8. Lucky Guy
9. Far Away
10. Cast Down My Heart
11. When It Comes to You
12. Inside Out
13. Nothing's Gonna Change


MxPx - Plans Within Plans - TraceNspace - 05-04-2012

Wow I didn't know they were still recording. They were always more sort of laid back in the punk genre to me. The YouTube video you posted sounds angrier than I remember them.