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Album Review: Go – Motion City Soundtrack

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Motion City Soundtrack

Pop punk veterans, Motion City Soundtrack, have returned for their fifth full-length release, Go. The result is an album that walks the tight wire between growth, progression, and familiarity. Though the album has been under scrutiny and speculation since its mid-June release, it still commands its listeners to revisit the 11 tracks over and over again.

While many feel this record does not reflect exactly what they were expecting, it does deliver on a number of levels. With a more relaxed approach, Go is a record in which its crafters demonstrate how to grow up. With songs like “Timelines” and “Happy Anniversary,” the band shows their knack at deftly creating catchy anthems grounded in sentiment.

It’s through this approach to songwriting in which MCS shows their strength and growth. Granted their youthful approach is still inherent in their synth and lyrics (check “True Romance” and “Box Elder”), but the levity found in previous works has taken on considerable weight.

And though this may sound like a negative effect, instead it creates a more intimate relationship between the artists and each listener. The Minneapolis quintet has managed to finely tune their form, as well as expand upon it. With crisp vocals, catchy synth, melodic guitars, and precise drums all on display, MCS shows their fans how much they’ve grown both individually and as a unit.

In a genre where bands come and go overnight, Motion City Soundtrack has firmly staked their claim in the epochs of pop punk. Go has a dynamic that is both refreshing yet familiar, and ultimately serves as a testament to this band’s originality and presence.

Love them or hate them, love Go, or hate Go. The quintet delivers another strong entry into their canon, which is sure to win its listeners over. The band plays Gramercy Theater Friday, 6.29.