The Fold, MxPx

With a career spanning nearly 15 years, Washington state's MxPx has always belied the Christian-themed punk-pop tag that is often used to describe them. Starting out as innocent skaters who released 7-inch singles while still in high school, the band hit it relatively big with their 1996 effort Life in General (featuring the classic punk sing-along "Chick Magnet"). As the religious references faded, the band was accused of selling out when 2003's Before Everything & After alienated fans with slickly produced pop showing little evidence of the ramshackle glee of yesterday. Panic, MxPx's last studio effort, righted the band's course and now Mike Herrara and crew are recording a new CD on their original label, Tooth & Nail. Headliners The Fold also have a slight Jesus bent to them, but not enough to offend the heathens and drunks among us. Secrets Keep You Sick, the Fold's sophomore effort, is thankfully more punk than pop, providing enough of a roar to make even the most virginal sentiments palatable.