Angry and visceral, the Mr. Max sound is all about that unapologetic chip on his shoulder, and it cuts through to you with zero pretense and zero put-ons. The pure undiluted angry punk rant of “I hate my life” rages against nothing and everything at the same time, articulating a cubic ton of emotions that come from a deep dissatisfaction and disillusionment with modernity that is as warranted here today as it was in the mid-1970s bleakness of the U.K. urbanisms that saw it blaze forth into the world.

Of course, like any “true” punk song, “I hate my life” isn’t a sanctimonious indictment of society’s failings. Mr. Max looks within himself and makes it clear that he’s as much a victim of circumstances as he is a perpetrator, going so far as to come off as a bit of a masochist who turns to Alcohol and casual sex as an escape rather than fixing what’s wrong.

This is much clearer, and even more poetic too in the trippy music video, where the first image we’re treated with is a Keith Haring-like Sisyphus rolling a boulder of trash and trashy entertainment up a hill, the very same that… you know what? no spoilers, you’re gonna have to watch the video for the rest of it.

The music video was created alongside frequent collaborator and friend Joe Kellman (AKA: Harvey Seasalt). It features the use of animation as a way to really be as creative as possible and even toying with symbolism that would have otherwise been too difficult or expensive to shoot.

The animation is has this nice crudeness to it that reminds me of 90’s MTV. I found that it fits perfectly with the raw sound and nigh-misanthropic message of the band. “I wanted the video to reflect the comical and ridiculous nature of the song,” says frontman Max Cohen. “I always have outlandish creative ideas, so it was awesome being able to use animation to bring those ideas to life. ” he continues, further delineating the importance of the medium delivering and sometimes boosting the signal that the band is putting out.
Mr. Max is a 3-piece set started by Cohen and it now includes drummer Diego Patino (It’s Butter) and Arion Salazar (Third Eye Blind) on the bass guitar.

The band has already been put through its paces by gigging around the greater Los Angeles area, no doubt socking audiences in the jaw with their gutsy and forward sound that takes no prisoners.

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