Motion City Soundtrack: Panic Stations
I put Panic Stations onto my phone feeling a sense of trepidation, as both songs they had put out in the build up to the release of their sixth full length record had left me cold. Surely Motion City Soundtrack, one of my favourite bands, weren't going to deliver a stinker?
The answer is no, but with a few caveats. It starts out promisingly enough, with vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre uttering "Let's do this!" before launching into "Anything At All". It's a track that sees the band put their foot to the floor in a way that's pleasingly reminiscent of the raw sound of "I Am The Movie", their debut record. Then it's into an underwhelming trio that includes the aforementioned singles "TKO" and "Lose Control". The former is fine but unremarkable, the latter sounds like a bad Weezer song. It's probably the worst track the band have written.
Panic Stations sees MCS moving away from the more polished production of previous records for a more raw sound, with the band recording the whole album in less than a fortnight. The result is patchy. Seldom do the band hit the heights of their previous work, but do so on "It's A Pleasure To Meet You", a pulsating track on combating anxiety and depression. "Gravity" also deploys an enormous chorus with the synthesiser cranked up loud and the record ends strongly with "Days With Run Away" as the band gradually join with Pierre's quiet musings. But for every one of these, there's a more pedestrian moment like "Over It Now" which adds little to the overpopulated subgenre of "songwriting to settle a grudge".
Overall, this sounds like a record from a band in flux. I applaud MCS for moving away from a style that has served them well, but Panic Stations is an uncohesive affair with a handful of stand out moments. For anyone looking to get into the band, I wouldn't start here. My advice would be to seek out "Commit This To Memory" or "My Dinosaur Life".
The answer is no, but with a few caveats. It starts out promisingly enough, with vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre uttering "Let's do this!" before launching into "Anything At All". It's a track that sees the band put their foot to the floor in a way that's pleasingly reminiscent of the raw sound of "I Am The Movie", their debut record. Then it's into an underwhelming trio that includes the aforementioned singles "TKO" and "Lose Control". The former is fine but unremarkable, the latter sounds like a bad Weezer song. It's probably the worst track the band have written.
Panic Stations sees MCS moving away from the more polished production of previous records for a more raw sound, with the band recording the whole album in less than a fortnight. The result is patchy. Seldom do the band hit the heights of their previous work, but do so on "It's A Pleasure To Meet You", a pulsating track on combating anxiety and depression. "Gravity" also deploys an enormous chorus with the synthesiser cranked up loud and the record ends strongly with "Days With Run Away" as the band gradually join with Pierre's quiet musings. But for every one of these, there's a more pedestrian moment like "Over It Now" which adds little to the overpopulated subgenre of "songwriting to settle a grudge".
Overall, this sounds like a record from a band in flux. I applaud MCS for moving away from a style that has served them well, but Panic Stations is an uncohesive affair with a handful of stand out moments. For anyone looking to get into the band, I wouldn't start here. My advice would be to seek out "Commit This To Memory" or "My Dinosaur Life".
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