Tumbledown

Album Review

Mike Herrera, frontman of MxPx takes a side trip with Tumbledown, a band that plays the honky tonk country and folk tunes. Herrera's been writing of late with the blistering punk energy of MxPx, although none of his cohorts from that band play in this side project. The band comes roaring out of the gate with "Let's Drink" a furious celebration of drunken revelry pushed into overdrive by the rhythms of the Trotland brothers and the fat power chords of Jack Parker. Other pedal-to-the-metal tunes include "Break Out of History," a protest song that skewers the dark heart of capitalism while celebrating those who fight for change with a song and a smile; "I'm Still Here," a she-done-me-wrong-so-I'm-drinkin'-myself-to-death-song with a bleary sense of humor, "Came Here to Fight," an ode to booze, boredom and testosterone with energy to spare; "My Sweet Darling Dear," an energetic apology to a gal who had to deal with her Romeo's drunken shenanigans; and the album closer "Homeward Bound" (not the Paul Simon song), a salute to the town of Kitsap, WA, full of hometown pride. The band's blazing energy and Herrera's energetic singing make the uptempo numbers sizzle with barely contained chaos. They play just as fiercely, but with more subtlety, on the folk- and blues-flavored tracks. "Movin' On" is a jaunty, ramblin' ballad about the dream of quitting your meaningless day job and hitting the road with great country harmonies from the band, and Herrera's snappy acoustic country picking. "State Line" is the tale of a homeless man drinking himself to death, delivered with a jaunty tune and Herrera's insouciant vocals. "Secondhand High" is a country blues that rides a down-and-dirty Creedence-style rhythm driven by Parker's electric guitar, while "Son of a Gun" is a straightforward love song built around a neat turn of phrase; "My daddy was a pistol, but I'm just a son of a gun." The album's rock-edged energy will probably keep country music radio from ever playing anything on this album, which is too bad. Herrera can write rings around most Nashville songwriters currently polluting the airwaves with their brand of watered down country music. ~ j. poet, Rovi