Getting older is hard for everyone, but those that age well should be heralded for their grace. As Motion City Soundtrack gets just a little bit older, the same celebration should be observed.
My Dinosaur Life is the band’s fourth studio album, produced once again (as in their sophomore effort, Commit This to Memory) by Mark Hoppus of blink-182. This album marks a slight shift, as the band changed labels from Epitaph to Columbia. That Hoppus has reprised his role as producer means nothing too significant has changed in the band’s sound, so worried and loyal fans should rest assured that something like Vetiver’s move to Sub Pop Records won’t change the sound of MCS that so many know and can’t get out of their heads.
The album reminds the listener of the harder sounds in earlier works like Memory, but the pop sensibilities that made Even if it Kills Me so good have not been forgotten. My Dinosaur Life does its job well. Tracks like “Hysteria” and “Delirium” have an apt heaviness to them that follows the latter half of their pop punk formula, but radio friendly pop can be found in “Stand Too Close” and “Pulp Fiction,” as well. Even though a track like “Skin and Bones” is grounded in the sugared catchiness that propels bands like Phoenix into Chrysler commercials, Motion City Soundtrack still sacrifices a little of its ultra-playability for a bit of experimentation. Fans that couldn’t get enough of Even if it Kills Me may be disappointed.
At times, the pop aspect of MCS comes off as contrived and is perhaps a molted feather of a band evolving. The chorus of “A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)” turns what would be a solid track into a lackluster radio song. Experimental as the album (kind of) is, the often-silly lyrics of Justin Pierre indicate that the Midwestern group may not give up their pop roots without a fight.
In “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” there may be signs that the band is growing up, especially when Pierre sings “I finally shaved off that beard/I sold my Xbox to Jimmy down the street/Hell, I even quit smoking weed.”
Like Pierre’s consistent lyricism of albums past, such words should not be taken too seriously, but indicators of a new direction in Motion City Soundtrack’s latest effort are present in songs like Dinosaur Life’s first single, “Disappear.” The single starts up quickly with crunching distortion and doesn’t let up, but the Thursdayish sound and the still-catchy chorus makes the song unmistakably a part of the MCS repertoire.
With four albums under their belt, Motion City Soundtrack have become relative veterans of a genre that loses its relevancy daily as more 14-year-old kids in basements across the nation put down their Squire guitars and pick up microphones in emulation of Justin Bieber and his bouncing brethren. Pop punk is far from dead (especially in light of blink-182’s apparent reformation). My Dinosaur Life does well to give the genre a kick-start with cohesive songwriting and excellent production. Fans will no doubt grab a copy, but the uninterested folks out there should reconsider their position before writing this album off as pop punk business as usual.
3 stars out of 5.
