The cover art for MxPx’s ‘Plans Within Plans’ is fairly basic, and in a lot of ways you could say the same about the music. Compared to ‘Secret Weapon’, this album feels stripped down and focused. The average tempo is probably higher than the band’s other recent releases, and that’s definitely a good thing because after all, a lot of MxPx’s fans originally got into them for their speed and energy. There are 13 tracks on display here, which might be a lot for some bands, but it’s the least amount of tracks ever on an MxPx studio album.
‘Plans Within Plans’ kicks off with three fast songs in a row, a tactic that’s served the band well in the past. Out of the whole album, ‘Aces Up’ and ‘Nothing Left’ probably sound most like the MxPx of old, but in a lot of ways, it’s wrong to expect the whole album to sound like this and maintain such a fast pace and fourth track, ‘The Times’, does bring the tempo down. Here, Herrera talks about living for the good times in life, and throughout the album there seems to be a theme of looking back at the past as well as looking forward to the future – this idea is continued on ‘In the Past’ and then later on ‘Best of Times’.
There are a few guest appearances on ‘Plans Within Plans’, but the truly exciting contribution is from Stephen Egerton (All/Descendents), who plays guitar on ‘In the Past’ and ‘Far Away’. Egerton also mixed and mastered the album, but it’s a shame he couldn’t get Herrera’s voice sounding as good as it did on ‘Cut Me Down to Size’ from ‘The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton’. On the whole, Herrera sounds less nasal than he has done recently but there are a few missteps vocal-wise. For example, towards the end of ‘Stay on Your Feet’, the vocals are far too prominent. Much of the guitar lead on that track also feels a little unnecessary.
Things pick up again with ‘Lucky Guy’, which has a strong, driving beat, and the guitar references The Sex Pistols’ ‘Pretty Vacant’ in the bridge. ‘Far Away’ is more towards the hardcore end of the punk spectrum, and it’s a great track apart from the breakdown which feel a little forced and don’t suit MxPx all that well. ‘Cast Down My Heart’ and ‘When It Comes To You’ are about relationships and they slow things down slightly, so ‘Inside Out’ is a great shot of pace towards the end of the album. However, ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change’ seems a slightly odd choice for a closer, mainly due to its time signature and minor feel, but in that way it reminds me of ‘Misplaced Memories’ which ended ‘The Ever Passing Moment’.
All in all, it’s great to see MxPx regain a bit of attitude. The lyrics here lack the youthful energy of the band’s earlier material, but the themes Herrera deals with are appropriate when you consider his age, and maybe ‘Plans Within Plans’ is finally a sign of the band growing up. The album doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s good to see MxPx growing old gracefully.
JOE E ALLEN