Motion City Soundtrack - 'I Am The Movie' (Epitaph)
3/5
By: Thomas Hannan
By rights, this should be an open and shut case. Just how much is there left to be done with gutsy, emotional pop-tinged punk-rock? Not a lot, you may well think. But new blood is here; some new tunes and ideas to be thrashed out before this musical chapter can be put to rest. It comes as a surprise, but Motion City Soundtrack hint that there might just be life in this one yet.
'I Am the Movie' is the kind of album that will get called 'punk' by everyone but the people who made it. MCS are undoubtedly a very credible band, predominantly because there's nothing about this album that blatantly tries to fit into any emo or pop punk scene (even if that's probably where most will categorise it). In days where such genre definitions are so hotly contested, the 'Soundtrack are happy to ignore such categorisation and just play, an attitude that demands admiration. Occasionally, they bring some welcome confusion to the blueprint too.
Take opener 'Cambridge', for example, for the most part a lightning-paced, melodic punk stomp through intense, adrenaline-fuelled riffs, but also a song that takes unexpected pauses for breath before falling over itself to get up to full speed once more. It's a simple way of breaking up the wall of distorted guitars, but a tactic that's surprisingly effective. Just using guitars for background texture in the same way on every song is a path that often gets incredibly dull, but the fact that Motion City S. come prepared with a few tricks to play on this means that, refreshingly, 'I Am The Movie' harbours some moments that seemingly come out of the blue.
Its other saving grace is one just as simple, but the fruit of a talent that shouldn't be overlooked. Motion City Soundtrack write some excellent songs, a smattering of which reside at the centre of 'I Am the Movie's strongest moments. Take the superb 'The Future Freaks Me Out' for example, a song somehow managing to recall the geek-rock of Weezer, tunes of The Cure and bite of Hot Water Music all at once. Similarly, 'Don't Call It a Comeback' rollicks in good measure, retaining the staple feature of ferocious guitars, but subtly sliding in swirling keyboard FX and pitch-perfect vocal harmonics over the chaos. Together with its preceding 'Boombox Generation', it's a mid-album highlight, but sadly one that couldn't come soon enough.
Early in the full-length, MCS suggest they're the breed of band that looks down on formula, preferring to go their own way and see what happens. As the album unfolds, it becomes clear this isn't quite the case, but at least when they do follow a plan, they come across as age-old masters of it. But in the gaps between its high points, Motion City Soundtrack simply fall into a pattern and too often are found guilty of taking the easy way out. Take the closing 'A-OK': completely devoid of anything of note - something truly disappointing when you consider it closes a record possessive of really rather, inescapably brilliant moments.
So, are the moves away from formula just happy accidents? Or, considering this is only a debut album, are they tenuous signs of something rather promising in its development stages? Time will tell, but seeing as this is a record that doesn't so much have bad moments as it does just uninspiring ones, there are good odds on MCS only getting better in years to come. So long as they don't lose that youthful energy and grasp of tunes, watching them really run riot will be a very welcome sight.
Artists in this article: Motion City Soundtrack
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