{"id":100240,"date":"2025-09-19T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=100240"},"modified":"2025-09-18T22:24:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:24:59","slug":"review-motion-city-soundtrack-the-same-old-wasted-wonderful-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-motion-city-soundtrack-the-same-old-wasted-wonderful-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Motion City Soundtrack &#8211; The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Motion City Soundtrack<\/strong>&#8216;s hiatus ended six years ago; however, life has got in the way. After all, the Minneapolis group are no longer the springy power-pop-punk upstarts that first emerged with 2003&#8217;s\u00a0<em>&#8216;I Am the Movie&#8217;<\/em>. In the years since ending a three-year hiatus, they&#8217;ve experienced personal mental health issues, worked on solo projects, and celebrated 17 years of <em>&#8216;Commit This to Memory,&#8217; <\/em>yet the quintet no longer want to dwell on nostalgia.\u00a0<em>&#8216;The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World&#8217;<\/em> is the band&#8217;s first album in ten years, and while Justin Pierre has put out music as a solo artist, he has a lot to say in his unique way.<\/p>\n<p>Completed by guitarist Joshua Cain, bassist Matt Taylor, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, and drummer Tony Thaxton,\u00a0<em>&#8216;The Same Old\u2026&#8217;<\/em> is the sound of a band reinvigorated. Joined by\u00a0<em>&#8216;I Am the Movie&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>producer, Sean O\u2019Keefe, <strong>Motion City Soundtrack<\/strong>&#8216;s seventh album sees them reconnecting with their roots. Tracks such as\u00a0<em>&#8216;She Is Afraid,&#8217;<\/em>\u00a0<em>&#8216;You Know Who The Fuck We Are,&#8217; <\/em>and <em>&#8216;Things Like This&#8217;<\/em>\u00a0swell with comforting familiarity, partly thanks to Pierre&#8217;s assured hooks. Elsewhere, Johnson&#8217;s synth keys twist and turn on\u00a0<em>&#8216;Downer&#8217;<\/em> with Cain&#8217;s sharp guitar and Thaxton&#8217;s energetic drumming. It&#8217;s followed by <em>&#8216;Mi Coraz\u00f3n&#8217;,<\/em> where Matt Taylor&#8217;s bass takes the steering wheel with its rhythmic drive. In turn, it gives\u00a0<strong>MCS<\/strong> a harder contrast to their often power-pop prowess.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Motion City Soundtrack - &quot;She Is Afraid&quot;\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qkwP8KsnvrI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Your Days are Numbered&#8217;<\/em> reins in the tempo, creating a reflective moment. Its steady build allows twinkling guitars to gradually burst with radiance. While Pierre&#8217;s hook of <em>\u201cI\u2019m not like them,\u201d<\/em> is delivered with perseverance, as Citizen\u2019s Mat Kerekes pops in for a brief cameo. Thematically, it plays into a narrative of personal acceptance and self-discovery.\u00a0 In comparison,\u00a0<em>&#8216;Bloodline&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>rushes through in 100 seconds with its rumbling, fuzzy guitars, thick percussion, and subtle synth-y swells.<\/p>\n<p>For the most part, <em>&#8216;The Same Old\u2026&#8217;<\/em> is a digestible and catchy record which benefits from its carefree execution. It allows them to deliver a set of songs that are distinctly <strong>Motion City Soundtrack<\/strong>. For example, the infectious <em>&#8216;Particle Physics&#8217;<\/em> prospers thanks to its quirky lyrics, as well as a guest spot from Fall Out Boy&#8217;s Patrick Stump. Whereas the album&#8217;s title track puts the thematic introspection firmly in the spotlight. Pierre reflects on morality, regrets, nostalgic favouritism, and acceptance of loss. As a sea of feedback fades away, Pierre closes with\u00a0<em>&#8220;We\u2019re still dying to know who we are&#8221;,<\/em> signalling a never-ending search for self-discovery, no matter how much things change.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World&#8217;<\/em> by <strong>Motion City Soundtrack<\/strong> is released on September 19th on\u00a0<strong>Epitaph Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Find <strong>Motion City Soundtrack<\/strong> on: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/motioncitysoundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MotionCityMusic\">X (Formerly Twitter)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/MotionCitySoundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@motioncitysoundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Threads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@motioncitysoundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/19zqV9DV3txjMUjHvltl2D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/artist\/motion-city-soundtrack\/2930430\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Music<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/MotionCitySoundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linktr.ee<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/motioncitysoundtrack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Returning Minnesota power-pop-punks spring back into life with a digestible collection full of self-discovery and acceptance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[3196],"class_list":["post-100240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-motion-city-soundtrack"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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