MXPX

Secret Weapon

{4.5/5}

Pre-dating Warped tour, emo and your older sibling’s scratched-up copy of Dookie, a lot of punk has gone under the proverbial bridge since MxPx struck their first power chord in 1992. But unlike most teenagers at 15 years old, MxPx have found their center, like being at home (Secret Weapon is the band’s first album on Tooth & Nail in more than 10 years) and have produced the most cohesive CD of their career. All grown up, vocalist/bassist Mike Herrera-with his fellow Magnified Plaid-ers Tom Wisniewski (guitar) and Yuri Ruley (drums)-storms into the chorus of the title track, growling, “You are your own secret weapon/It’s all up to you to come out swinging.” From the catchier than bird-flu “Not Nothing” to the double-time, tear-up-that-half-pipe “Drowning,” Secret Weapon shows off a band at the height of their career, even though they’re already almost two decades into it. (TOOTH & NAIL ) Casey Lynch