I decided the rating system I devised is too limiting and will be switching to an A, B, C rubric. Here is the first Wednesday Wrap Up with the new grades in place:
Rating: C+
File Under: The Lyrics Digress While the Music Grows Up
- "Worker Bee" - 2:25
- "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)" - 3:23
- "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" - 3:38
- "Disappear" - 3:12
- "Delirium" - 3:29
- "History Lesson" - 2:35
- "Stand Too Close" - 2:48
- "Pulp Fiction" - 3:53
- "@!#?@!" - 3:00
- "Hysteria" - 3:05
- "Skin and Bones" - 3:36
- "The Weakends" - 4:48
Motion City Soundtrack have been around for quite a long time. They came onto the scene in 2003 with their stellar breakout I Am The Movie. Now, seven years later, not much has changed for MCS. With the exception that their already catchy and quirky pop-punk has become ever more quirky and tight. Some of their solid instrumental sound is owed to producer Mark Hoppus, who reigns in the frenetic energy and condenses it into twelve radio-ready bites. The guitars are heavy and quick, years of honing their instrumental chops has allowed Justin Pierre and Joshua Cain to sound bouncy and lively while maintaining technical proficiency. Every note resonates clearly and at its strongest the guitars don't pretend that they are doing anything more that three chord punk. The rhythm section holds it down solid as always, Tony Thaxton is still one of the most energetic and inventive drummers in his genre. While his band plays simple songs, he is constantly pounding away off-kilter beats and dynamic tempos. If it weren't for him, the band would be venerable to sounding bland and unrecognizable.
The lyrics aren't superb, in fact they are down right whack. Every line sounds like the musings of a washed up adult in a dying genre filled with children. (Also See: Rivers Cuomo) Justin Pierre opens up his diary to us after four years of writing and all we get is profanity and trite cultural references. His voice jumps from restrained to ridiculous, crooning his happiness to spitting out his emotional disgust, and at its best his vocals are smooth and comforting... much like peanut butter. Too bad I don't want to stick peanut butter in my ears. When he was younger and more mentally torn apart, Pierre could weave a short story of improbable lovers or an inexplicable fear of the future, but now he is empty. His band gives it their all and the vocals are so disappointing they fail to meet the bombast of the instrumentation. A middling effort from a once-stalwart band, although they dial it in for the instruments, they phone it in for the vocals. The songs are quirky and fun, but not groundbreaking. It's a good listen a couple times but everything that is done right on this album was done just as well, or even better, by The Matches. For a genre that is falling to pieces, Motion City Soundtrack's emo tinged pop-punk sounds very much alive, too bad the words don't match the attitude.
