Artist of the Day: Motion City Soundtrack

Although the band undeniably peaked after 2005's venerated album Commit This to Memory, Motion City Soundtrack has had an undeniably good run since their humble beginnings in 1997. The band's new EP Making Moves, released just this week, seems to show an improvement from the disappointment that was June's Go. Motion City Soundtrack, like most pop-punk bands of their generation, are buoyed by strong vocals with decent contributions being made by all supporting instruments- look no further than the drumming on "Time Turned Fragile" for evidence of the band's competence.

Hovering somewhere between Panic at the Disco, with their heavy incorporation of synthesizer especially evoking their contemporaries, and circa-2005 Fallout Boy, Motion City Soundtrack are far from the most innovative band on the market but are unique enough that they never made huge waves on the radio despite being catchy enough to have spawned Alt-Rock radio hits. Justin Pierre's songwriting is straightforward and predictable with very clear structural changes between the verses and choruses. This makes Motion City Soundtrack ideal for casual listening. Pierre's voice is dynamic, with a decent range and a knack for applying emphasis at precisely the right times. His lyrics aren't fantastic, but they rise above the angst-driven yearning for females seeming to malign the genre (especially of more radio-friendly pop-punk). Best of all, though, is the man can write a hook like nobody's business and he delivers it with precision every time. And, at the end of the day, what more could you ask for from a band like Motion City Soundtrack?

This post is dedicated to blog proprietor Casey Whitman, who has been blackballed from an internet review community in the fallout of his posting a review for this band. Keep stirring the pot Casey, we will always be here for you.
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