Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life
Punk-pop legends return with impressive new album
Motion City Soundtrack’s greatest appeal - their ace in the hole - is the ability to write a memorable chorus. Each one on this album is just destined to be echoed by a room full of people. The biggest examples, 'A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)' and 'History Lesson', are positively crying out for a live audience to get involved. 'My Dinosaur Life' is filled with hooks, refrains and choruses which will circle round your head like vultures.
Upfront the album has an upbeat and, at times, party vibe to it but behind this the lyrics are not always as sweet. 'Skin and Bones' debates one of the biggest questions; the meaning of life and human existence. This could be a complete buzzkill, but MCS handle the subject matter without any airs and graces whilst showing audiences that there's more to the band than may be immediately apparent. Instead of showcasing their own views they leave the question unanswered, leaving fans to make up their own minds.
The band bring the show their punk side with a change of pace on 'Disappear'. Though frontman Justin Pierre’s voice struggles a little through the verses with its quick-fire delivery, it finds it’s feet in time for yet another singalong chorus; Pierre adding a bit more bite to his otherwise clean vocal style.
'@!#?@!' may possibly be one of the worst song titles committed to print (answers on a postcard on how to pronounce this one) but luckily the song itself fairs much better. The name's clearly a warning to the oversensitive as Pierre and the rest of the band throw in some expletives for good measure (maybe a lesson learnt from producer Mark Hoppus of Blink 182).
The album's highlight is lead single 'Her Words Destroyed My Planet' which is a frank account of the aftermath of a romantic break up. Though the subject matter is hardly groundbreaking for the genre, what is different is the way in which it's described and explored. References to US television show Veronica Mars and having to ‘shave that beard’, selling your beloved Xbox and getting a job you don't like or in fact want, makes this song more down to earth and relatable than those filled with the usual clichés and regrets.
Having achieved success in their homeland (this album reached a peak of 15 on the US charts) Motion City Soundtrack will be hoping to emulate this here in the UK. With the solid 'My Dinosaur Life', they may just have the album which brings them further recognition on these shores.
RSS Feed
