Artist: Tumbledown
Album: Tumbledown
Genre: Folk Punk
Label: End Sounds

Side projects are risky business. Sometime they soar and more times than not, they fail. A positive example would be Postal Service, and a not so good side project would be John and Yoko. I get the desire to try something different, but it doesn’t allow youj to bring subpar music to the forefront because your other band is so popular. The latest group to cast their hat into the side project game is Mike Herrera of Mxpx’s Tumbledown. Their self titled release is just about in stores and I think it’s one you just might want to check out.

Straying not too far from MxPx’s classic punk style, but adding acoustic guitars and a solid amount of twang, Tumbledown brings us tales of life, love, and of course death. Punk goes country and acoustic, but with the original ethos in tact. Tracks like, “Let’s Drink,” “Break out of History,” “I’m Still Here,” and “Son of a Gun,” would probably make both Johnny Cash and The Ramones smile. The storytelling sails high and the passion is not lost in the noise, but emphasized due to the more subtle accmopaniment. The real golden track, as I already noted, is “Son of A Gun.” This seems like something would have worked just as well on an MxPx album, but herrera’s voice and songwriting hasn’t shined so well in quite awhile. The clinchingline, “my daddy was a pistol, and I’m just a son of a gun,” echoes long after the album has ended. It’s simple and beautiful. A perfect song. In addition, the album closes quite wlel with the double hitter of, “Homeward Bound,” a classic traveling country song and a hidden track featuring the “dueling banjos.” It’s light hearted, yes, but it also fits the fun theme of the record and just leaves you smiling.

I’ve been a die hard Mike Herrera fan from the moment I heard Slowly Going The Way of The Buffalo, but I will admit to being a bit cautious of this side project until I actually listened to the record. Tumbledown’s self titled album is a fun record that packs a lot of heart and hard work into song that generally don’t break two and a half minutes. Perfect summer music and something maybe even your parents will get into.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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