Mest – Photographs

Remember back in the day, when you first discovered this new “punk rock” sound. You’re young, in junior high, and being introduced to the sound by MTV and MuchMusic like everyone else – but you take it a step further than all of those other people and you try and find more bands to suit your fancy. So you find your favorite band’s website, you find out who they’re touring with, who they like, and who they support and you start to check out their songs. That is how I first discoveredMest four or five years ago, and since they were on the of the first punk bands I heard, they will also be somewhat special to me, and while their breakup wasn’t torturing, I was saddened by the fact. But I guess no matter what happens, I’ll always be able to look back at their old stuff with a small, and even though their final effort, Photographs, won’t give me a giant grin, it will still fill my face with a nice smirk.

For you see, Photographs is definitely not the same Mest I fell in love with so many years ago. There’s no longer immature, fun songs like Fuct Up Kid, no more high energy, upbeat songs like What’s The Dillio, and no more rebellious, upstroke, anthems like Rebel With A Reason; no, not at all. Instead, like they did with their Self-Titled effort, Mest have given us a much more mature, much more mellow, and much smoother album. There’s no denying that many people will despise this, say they were better back in the day, and that they sold out with this over-produced piece of trash, and in some ways, those critics are right. At times, you miss that certain distortion that came up their older material, at times you miss that high energy beat, and at times you miss the immature lyrics, and at times, you wonder why they had to follow the crowd and go with the emo lyrics like Last Kiss‘ “Stare ar you as you slit my wrists and as we share our last kiss.” Nevertheless, you can’t deny that this is still Mest, and with songs like Last Kiss, Cursed, Graveyard and Kiss Me, Kill Me, old Mest fans will still find entertainment in Photographs.

Personally, I’m slightly happy that the band called it quits when they did, as their last two CDs weren’t spectacular, and its better to go out on a high than to keep on going tarnishing your name. There’s no way that Photographs is Mest‘s best output, as it is a little too slick and in some cases over-produced. But pop-punk bands will definitely enjoy it, and it’s well worth a listen.

Oh, and there’s also a DVD in here. I haven’t watched it yet, so I have no idea what’s on it. I’ll give it a spin after 24 and Prison Break tonight, hopefully it will be good.