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Mike Herrera's Tumbledown project seems like a promising enough venture: straightforward, stripped-down country songs that provide a reasonable alibi to set aside the MxPx records and revel in Herrera's take on more down-home styles. However, the results seem half-baked and ironically pacified.

"Let's Drink" opens things up, and you can't say Herrera doesn't know how to write a song as catchy as anything MxPx has produced. "Let's drink, let's drink 'till we fall down" is repeated a bit ad nauseum, but it'll certainly stick. The question is, does Herrera really want us to drink with him until we fall down? Probably not, judging from the amount of sheer cheerfulness in his delivery. There's little substance there, and that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if the song was fun enough to make up for it, which it isn't quite.

A similar issue presents itself in "Came Here to Fight." You just can't take Herrera seriously when he says, "I came here to drink and I came here to fight / I'm all out of beer so let's take it outside." His nasal vocal delivery has always been a pleasantly flawed front for his songs, but his threats here are kind of laughable.

The musicianship is certainly competent enough, with Herrera backed by a trio on guitar, standup bass and percussion. But the constant shuffle and lack of major twang results in a lot of the songs merely coming off as Social D-peppered MxPx B-sides funneled through a slightly country-fried flair. Which are okay, one guesses, but maybe not quite what Herrera was going for. Certain tracks do manage to completely cut away, with Herrera's voice a bit more smokey and the music a little more ornate on "State Line."

The hidden track is actually a slightly alternate version of the entire album. I can't see it having much replay value, as the differences are few and far between. In fact, listening now, it's hard to pick out just what the band is actually doing different.

Tumbledown is pleasant and proficient enough, but it's definitely lacking some punch and needs a little more tinkering to have a little more of the spotlight outside of Herrera's main gig.

STREAM
Homeward Bound






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    Posted by tumblegargle on 2009-05-29 16:50:46

    OFFICIAL TUMBLEDOWN MUSIC VIDEO!!!

    MAYBE

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOh9MRvlgpw

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2009-05-28 15:03:16

    I've made comment about how he shouldn't be making this music before and I think I, perhaps, didn't quite know how to articulate my own view. I do believe (and know) that people from outside of the area where country is prevalent can love country music. I was raised in the Bay Area, California and I love country music (old and new). However, loving, appreciation and even being able to write a decent country song doesn't always mean you should perform it. There is a certain authenticity that should be required of a music like this. Artists like Chuck Ragan, Austin Lucas and Tim Barry live in the music they write (even songs like "Dog Bumped" which isn't autobiographical). It's what they're surrounded by and how they live. I always felt that it would come off as more than just a bit disingenuous if the guy from MXPX tried to do the same, and apparently I'm not too far off.
    -Dante

    Posted by Jephso on 2009-05-28 00:16:47

    As much as I love MxPx, I'm not a fan of this side-project. Mike's voice doesn't suit this kinda stuff, especially when he goes all nasal. And the lyrics mentioned in this review don't seem to suit the guy either. All seems a bit contrived,

    Posted by slowstupidhungry on 2009-05-27 21:15:31

    Then I hope I never see what "brilliance at its worst" is.

    Posted by SKAtepunk on 2009-05-27 17:57:52

    @dante300
    Turdlebrown, brilliance at its finest

    Posted by mattramone on 2009-05-27 11:56:42

    We've reached the saturation point when the singer from terrible fucking fake punk bands like MXPX is jumping on the country bandwagon.

    This guy's voice fucking blows and I can't imagine this being worth a single second of my time.

    Posted by eazyd2 on 2009-05-27 10:25:45

    mike herrera would kick the shit out of any of your faggot poser country music stars im looking at you chuck gayballs, austin lucas, and lucero cunt!!!

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2009-05-27 10:13:36

    Turdlebrown.
    -Dante

    Posted by oldpunkerforever on 2009-05-27 07:28:02
    My Score:

    score is for MXPX, so underated and many, oh so many bands have ripped their style ( ie: the new smartbomb has a couple straight from the mxpx playbook)-oldpunker-

    Posted by dropkicksoul on 2009-05-27 05:58:42

    mxpx country haha

    Posted by TahoeJeff on 2009-05-27 03:42:54

    Drinking and fighting? Jesus is not stoked.

    Posted by punk_rawk_show on 2009-05-27 01:02:31

    Love mxpx, as the name suggests.

    Saw Tumbledown earlier this year, wasnt crap but wasnt anything to bragg about.

    Mxpx however, are gods!

    Posted by scorpiondeathlock on 2009-05-27 00:19:05
    My Score:

    lol anyone remmber that "kings of hollywood" song by mxpx? that completely cancelled out anything good they ever did, it sounded like it was written exclusively for the agent cody banks soundtrack of something.

    score is for teenage politics and the confusion that surrounds them.

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