Album Details

• Artist: Motion City Soundtrack
• Album: My Dinosaur Life
• Label: Columbia
• Year of Release: 2010
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: lekwon on 2010-02-02

Motion City Soundtrack's latest record just may be one of its greatest. It is a powerful return to the old sounds that first gave this band the title as one of the best pop-rock outfits in the business. If you ever, for a second, doubted the chance that MCS could sound just as incredible in retrograde fashion, perhaps one spin of My Dinosaur Life would convince you otherwise. The songs are gritty and unrefined, an enthusiastic throwback to the days of I Am the Movie. Try "Delirium," one notable gem on the album with a bridge of distorted sounds and one loud chorus of wailing guitars and big moog moments. Meanwhile frontman Justin Pierre chimes in crying, "I swim in pharmaceuticals." This song screams with the raw force that we have missed so dearly since the band's debut album. Other outstanding tracks that pull influences from the I Am the Movie years include "Disappear" and "History Lesson."

On the other hand, the more polished melodies are just as endearing, such as "Stand Too Close" and "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help)." Here Pierre's quirky songwriting gets the spotlight: the lyrics are just as honest and ironic as ever before, dropping lines such as "The creepy crawlies, a case of the bends / I had the martyrs that I bartered from the barons for the bandoleers" in "Pulp Fiction."

In all honesty, every single track is a gem that gives so much value to the overall package. The musicality is flawless: the bass and guitars are raw, the moog conveys the distinctive MCS vibe, and the drums give the gritty sounds their poppy bounce. Motion City Soundtrack has always delivered, and My Dinosaur Life is no exception. In fact, the return to old sounds has turned out to be an absolute masterpiece. Hopefully with a big surge from Columbia, the guys will catch their most deserved wave of success in 2010.

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