Even If It Kills Me

by

Motion City Soundtrack

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Over the years, Motion City Soundtrack has gained quite a following, blossoming from unknowns to staples in the indie world and borderline mainstream. It's always difficult for a band to toe the line between staying true to their original style yet still evolving without "selling out." I hate that term, but when bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance do a complete 180 in terms of their musical style after they got famous, you have to wonder what spurred that. Luckily, I think that with this album, Motion City Soundtrack has successfully pulled it off.

I have to admit, if you are looking for a punk sound, you may be disappointed. While a lot of their old stuff (songs like Throwdown and many tracks on I Am The Movie) had a grittier sound, Motion City Soundtrack has definitely gotten a little poppier. You can tell the difference in production and polish on this album than on I Am The Movie. Yet they have done so in such a way that their punk roots are still slightly evident, though the "pop" of "pop punk" is definitely the headline here. I think this evolution to a poppier sound was evident in Commit This To Memory, and they do it again here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the sound is soooo different from their last album. It's a small change, and it works.

If you've read the Alternative Press article, then you know a big theme of this album is the sobriety and feelings of Justin Pierre, the lead singer and songwriter. This is very evident; many of the lyrics are more personal than in Motion City Soundtrack's past work. As a result, some of the songs are a little softer and more expressive, and there is more use of piano, most notably in "The Conversation," which is very Ben Folds-like. But they still retain their fast-paced, synthesizer rock sound. Lyrically, I think this is their most mature album. Songs like "This Is For Real" and "Even If It Kills Me" deal with themes like drug use and trying to get your life back on track, while tracks like "It Had To Be You" have the fun, goofy lyrics that MCS is known for. The quality of Justin's vocals (one of my personal favorite points of this band) are still very high, and the rolling drums that pushed the beat in old songs like "My Favorite Accident" and "Everything is Alright" is still here, like in "This Is For Real" and "Broken Heart." And while some songs are more mature, the pop sound has required that the Moog synthesizer remain of the band's focal points.

All in all, it's good to see a band successfully cater to their old fans while adapting their style to fit their changing musical tastes and abilities. If you ask me, I think this album is going to blow up (and for good reason).

Personal favorites: "This Is For Real," "It Had To Be You," "Where I Belong," "Point of Extinction," "Antonia," "Even If It Kills Me"

I have been a diehard fan of motion city soundtrack since their first album dropped. i have seen them live numerous times, and i have all but played out their first 2 cd's. needless to say, i was quite excited to get my hands on this as soon as possible.

perhaps i just set my expectations a bit too high for this cd, but it just seems like they all kind of lost the spark to make music for this one. sure, there are some good, standout tracks ("broken heart" and "where i belong" come to mind), but there is also a bit too much filler ("calling all cops" and "the conversation") when compared with their older albums.

lyrically, i would say that this ranks just as high as their previous work. sure, some of them are slightly more quirky than they used to be, but they are all still just as endearingly cathartic as well. musically, however, it sounds like they just got bored writing their own songs at points.

all in all though, its still a pretty good album. more good songs than bad. it's much better than say, anything that nickelback could ever write. its definitely worth a listen or two.