The Mr. T Experience: Revenge Is Sweet, And So Are You

There are hundreds of boring, interchangeable punk-pop bands in the world—thousands, probably—so finding the handful that don't sound exactly the same is an arduous, monotonous task. Usually, the difference between a good punk-pop band and a mediocre one revolves around something easily defined: Pansy Division's defiantly gay lyrics, for example. With The Mr. T Experience, it's not so easy, because the group does little more than merely fire off catchy, inoffensive, radio-friendly little ditties about love and girls and break-ups. Yet there's something special about many of the Berkeley band's songs: They're so catchy and so breezy, with just the right little dose of melancholy, that there's simply nothing wrong with them. MTX's eighth album, Revenge Is Sweet, And So Are You, does have its weak spots, like the goofy "Hell Of Dumb," with its mock-country tone and pedal-steel guitar. But for every average moment, there's a song like "Here She Comes," which is a perfect dose of sheer, exhilarating joy. And you can't knock a band that writes lyrics like, "My happiness is infinite when my life has this nymph in it."