Search - Motion City Soundtrack :: My Dinosaur Life

Hoppus at the helm again...what happened???

D. Gottwald | Oakland, CA United States | 01/30/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"It's awfully hard to think so little of this latest album when I think so highly of the band in general. Although "I Am the Movie" is impressive, it was 2005's Hoppus-produced "Commit this to Memory" that really made me fall in love with MCS. The magic, the diversity, the ambiance and the unity...pure gold. I say unity because even though "I Am the Movie" is truly remarkable, it's a collection of songs written and rolled out over a period of years 1998-2002 which makes it feel more like a b-sides compilation. "Commit This to Memory" holds together so well because it was written and recorded in a single stab, as the very best albums should be.



"Even If It Kills Me" surely contained a few missteps ("Hello Helicopter" would have been best replaced by the b-side "I'm Not Asking You to Leave," for example) It dragged in some places, but listen to it right after their previous effort and you can hear a clear progression in both performance and song writing.



So what went so wrong with "My Dinosaur Life"? I don't know...but after listening to the album repeatedly since it's release a few weeks ago, I grow more and more disappointed. "Worker Bee" is a predictable climb progression and is executed at about 2/3 of the speed that it should be (more like where "Attractive Today" is would have been best). "A Lifeless Ordinary" suffers from the same problem...a well written song that shuffles through a tempo that drags. And the hop-up soaring chorus is just embarrassing...makes me cringe every time.



"History Lesson" is perhaps the worst song Motion City Soundtrack has ever recorded. It smacks of a junior high acoustic campfire beach party--without the charming nostalgia you might associate with such a scene. And when the chorus jumps up a full key near the end...my god! Is this Winger? Night Ranger? Horrible. Just horrible. Its a shame because the guitar solo that rages through that section is fantastic. And the shout-outs? Leave them back at the high school gym lock-in.



The marketers are clever folks, which is why some of the best tunes on the album--"Her Words Destroyed My Planet" and "Disappear" were circulated late last fall to con you into buying the rest of it. When people compare this album to the raw energy and eclectic arrangements of MCS's debut, they're most likely thinking of these tracks. "Pulp Fiction" and "The Weakends" are also both standouts.



But the biggest single complaint I have--and other fans of the band should relate--is WHERE THE F IS THE SIGNATURE MOOG?!?! Oh sure, you can hear a taste of it on "@!#?@!" (although the falsetto vocal swearing is laughable and distracts), "Hysteria" and a few other tracks. But for the most part, it's been traded for light organ and upright piano chord plucks in the style of Panic at the Disco's first album. I can't even begin to say how DISAPPOINTING this is. It completely RUINED the album for me.



Motion City Soundtrack is NOTHING without the MOOG. It's the catchy power that made their sound so refreshing. Even on the tracks that feature it, Hoppus has buried it so deep into the mix that it's as if he's ashamed to put it up front where it belongs. Compare the mix and presence "Don't Call it a Comeback" or "Mary Without a Sound" or even "When You're Around" with the chorus of "Hysteria" and you'll see what I mean.



I waited since the day that "Even If it Kills Me" came out...for this. But I still bought "My Dinosaur Life" (it's a fan's plight) and I'm still excited to see them live yet again in a couple of weeks...I just hope they focus on the old stuff.



Skip this one and wait for them to hopefully redeem themselves from this poor effort in a few years' time."

The Baby Out with the Bath Water!

Russell Carrick | 03/18/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As Motion City Soundtrack is probably my favorite band of the last five years it is very hard for me to write this review, but I do so in the hopes that the band reads these reviews and might take heed of one DEVOTED fan's heartfelt plea.



The beauty of MCS - what sets them apart from so many more simple bands that occupy a similar genre - is their INTRICACY. Going well beyond the guitar-and-vocals-backed-up-by-a rhythm-section formula of rock and roll, the band (in the past) has created finely-detailed aural creations where every instrument doesn't just back up the others but rather AUGMENTS them (and even the drums sketch intricate lines)...so what you get is a sort of sonic feast where you can listen to a song over and over again savoring the nuanced mechanics of so many elements doing so many different things at once, yet all making the whole greater than the sum of the parts.



Now - and I can't stress this too strongly - this effect is best exemplified by MCS's keyboard element, which adds not merely another layer of sound, but a whole additional DIMENSION of sound to their songs (while at the same time giving them a unique and welcome signature.) I say all this to point out that, if you remove this whole other dimension, what you have is quite simply a set of songs that are LACKING A WHOLE DIMENSION--sounding in the end less intricate, less full, and less intense. Put another way, Motion City Soundtrack was made to be a loaded sundae, not very good scoop of vanilla.



My fear is that somewhere along the line the band bought into the notion that their keyboards, their gear-shifting refrains, and all their little nuances made them less punk in attitude or seriousness. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a dyed-in-the-wool devotee of punk essentialism (and all varieties of *up-tight* rock and roll energy), and have lamented many times after a band lost their edge or succumbed to over-production. And while "Even if it Kills Me" is a little prettier than "I Am the Movie" it was BY NO MEANS any sort of shark-jumping album. Yes - "I Am the Movie" was a little more raw, but it was filled with wonderful flourishes and keyboards; and - Yes - "Even if it Kills Me" was more polished and poppy, but it was still filled with Motion City Soundtrack's heartfelt agita and speed. Just listen to "Fell in Love Without You." This was what I was expecting when heard Mark Hoppus was back producing - NOT a stripped down version of a band whose strength lies precisely in all their accessories!



So, gentlemen, if your listening - for your next album bring back the lost dimensions, "throw it all" in every song, and don't be afraid of polish...it's what you do. (And I'll be there waiting.)"

Nowhere near as good as their last two efforts...

N. Flowers | Dover, DE | 01/24/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"My wife and I LOVE Motion City Soundtrack. Their debut album was pretty good, their sophomore effort was, of course, a modern classic, "Even If It Kills Me" was really good but nowhere near as amazing as "Commit This To Memory".... and THIS.... well, this is pretty bad. It feels rushed and it seems the boys in MCS are trying to escape the things that made them unique in the first place.



Justin, whose quiet and wavering voice sounded beautiful on the previous albums, is straining his voice to reach high notes that are unnecessary for the songs he's singing, and the Moog keyboard that is so synonymous with MCS is all but completely absent from the album.



None of the songs feel like sing-alongs, nothing seems catchy and memorable, and... well, this is another proven point that moving to a major label doesn't always warrant a good album (I'm looking at you, Anti-Flag, as another example).



And for those who said "It'll grow on you", I've listened to this album numerous times. Hasn't grown on me. I'll stick with their last two albums."