Pop goes the punk!

MXPX is back with a new LP, following the Renaissance EP and their greatest hits compilation, Ten Years and Running.

And it seems many things have changed for the three-piece.

While their best work is scarcely produced (Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo, Life in General), BEAA is bubble-gummed up for the masses thanks to a mixing by the Lord-Alge brothers, who've wussed up songs from artists like Blink-182 and Weezer.

As was the case with Ever Passing Moment, BEAA has a catchy hit or two that will break through on the radio. But past that, it's pretty bleak.

Guest vocalists Kris Roe (The Ataris), Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory) and Benji Madden (Good Charlotte) provide backup to lead singer Mike Herrera on a few songs. And they even promoted the album by doing a Diet Pepsi commercial where they perform "Well Adjusted," the best song on the album.

MXPX have built a fan base because of their live show, and perhaps that will infuse some life into forgettable songs like "It's Alright" and "More Everything."

They go acoustic on "Quit Your Life," but there is minimal success since lyrics are easier to hear and "We'll paint the house and wash the car/We'll take a walk, but not too far" does not qualify as brilliant writing.

The band is not a flash-in-the-pan pop punk band with bleached blond hair, but this album makes them sound like one.

The fact that this Seattle band can accurately cover Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" is phenomenal. Not only is it a tribute, but Maktub's unique brand of sonic experimentation makes their version a classic in its own right.

Maktub's latest album Khronos is a blend of what could be defined as 70s funk and soul with just a touch of hard-rock chord progressions that really hold their songs together.

Tracks like "So Tired," "Baby Can't Wait" and "We've Got Desire" meld together separate soul influences so that the end product is something like Al Green meets Marvin Gaye and one of the guitarists from the Bee Gees; just to get that 70's era minor chord rhythm down tight.

Give me some time also draws its roots from Philadelphia-like soul but with a bit of hard rock rhythm that tightens up the whole production of the song and makes it hit hard and flow smoothly, adding a bit of adrenaline into the mix.

"Just Like Murder" is a somber love song that starts out with a reverent organ, but then transforms into a soulful and yet grungy track that is truly distinctive; almost sounding like a pop-grunge song of the early nineties circa STP.

Maktub's cover of "No Quarter" is intrinsically like the original, with some important additions. Keyboardist Daniel Spils' synthesizer is able to introduce a sonic interplay that was not available when Zeppelin released the original. He also accurately captures the frozen feeling of the tune in his keyboarding. Reggie Watt's voice is able to emulate Robert Plant's falsetto and brings in a little bit of the soul that's rife throughout the entire album. Yes, these guys can pull off a tremendous Zeppelin cover.

If you enjoyed past Atmosphere efforts such as The Lucy Ford EP or God Loves Ugly because of their emotional attachments to the Lucy Ford character, you may not like Seven's Travel's so much.

For one, there are few-to-no references to Ford on Travels. Although lyricist Slug, a.k.a. Sean Daley, admitted to the Wildcat that he was not yet over the trials and tribulations of the Ford character (yes the inspiration is a real person), he said that Seven's is about life on a tour bus.

Seven's Travels is about what happened after realizing that God loves ugly and embracing it and taking it on the road," he said. "And Seven's Travels is essentially an album about touring."

There must be something about having seen a million faces and rocking them all, because this album is Atmosphere's most accessible to date. Not that is sounds commercial, but everything on it is stepped up.

Ant created great musical canvases here while Daley dropped piercing hypnotic details with his signature flow over them. It's easily one of the most unique and creative hip-hop albums released this year (although Outkast probably won't fail to impress either).

Amongst the highlights ("Reflections," "Shoes," "National Disgrace," "Always Coming Back Home To You") is the hidden track in which Daley raps about having pride in hometowns, particularly Minneapolis, over hyped-up major cities.

"If you can drink tap-water and breathe the air/Say Ssshhhhh.." he sings.

Who knew that two guys named Slug and Ant would bring it all back home?

Bubba Sparxxx entered the pop-hip-hop radar a couple of years ago with his barnyard blazer "Ugly." It's kind of sad to say not much has changed in the landscape of hip-hop since then.

There are still idiots like P. Diddy singing about tail feathers and image-hyper gangsters grinning while their pockets are filling with Mouseketeer money. The greatest example, however, of glorifying the sound of a dead horse being pulverized is the amount of airtime given to the ultra marginally talented Fabolous and his R&B crooner brigade.

So why isn't there room for a big, fat white kid from the South?

Well, it's tough to say where Bubba would be without Timbaland's production. It's kind of like asking where Eminem or 50 Cent would be without Dr. Dre. Tim's silky-smooth violins, horns, guitars, beat-boxing, and hi hats make this album, literally: he produced 11 of the 15 songs here.

Bubba's an average lyricist at best. It's true he has a different style and he's not recycling the same bling-bling garbage.

Half the time, however, he sounds like he's trying to be his heroes, Outkast. The other half he utilizes his distinctive delivery to hit nice strides, like on the title track and the Justin Timberlake backed "Hootanny."

It still makes you wonder though, how good he would sound without one of the greatest producers of our time backing him.

Considering the alternatives though, there's plenty of room for Bubba.