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Thursday, 08 December 2005 11:30

Blink 182 is one of the only punk-rock bands to have a large amount of mainstream success, but there are a lot of other good punk bands such as S.T.U.N., Less Than Jake, and Mest. The latter’s new self-titled album is a worthy effort and fun to listen to, but the band brings nothing new to the table on the album.

The first single, “Jaded,” which features Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, isn’t even the best song on the album and is actually kind of boring. It almost seems as if the record company pushed that single first just because Good Charlotte is popular at the moment. A listener unfamiliar with the group could easily confuse Mest’s sound with that of Blink 182. The band even writes songs filled with fun lyrics, much like Blink.

Lyrically, frontman Tony Lovato’s juvenile-sounding voice doesn’t help the songs on the album much. Guitarist Jeremiah Rangel, whose voice actually sounds better than Lovato’s, carries two of the better songs on the album, “Night Alone” and “Your Promise.” “Rooftops” is also a standout track.

For a band whose last album, Destination Unknown, showed so much promise and potential, it is kind of a letdown to hear Mest’s latest offering. Punk rock fans should like the album, but shouldn’t expect anything new or exciting. That is one of the reasons Blink-182 is so popular; they are creative with their music, image, and album titles. For a band trying to stand out and make a name for themselves in an already crowded punk-rock industry, Mest’s latest album may be enjoyable to listen to, but without that much-needed creative edge, it will leave many music fans wondering: Who is that?