Motion City Soundtrack - The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World (2025) [Hi-Res]

Album review

Motion City Soundtrack broke up in 2016 and reunited three years later, touring regularly since then. But it's been a decade since they released a full album of new material. There's a lot on The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World, their seventh LP, that will be familiar to fans—but some surprises, too. The record makes clear that it's possible to come back from burnout, which, the quintet has said, led to their split. Singer Justin Pierre sounds great on "Some Wear a Dark Heart," which begins a little slow then gets an epic jump-start at the chorus. Those early verses, though, are some of the few moments where you clearly hear his voice on its own. For the majority of the record, vocals are thickly layered and harmonized, matching the overall vibe: MCS is embracing all the bells and whistles. Biggest and brightest is power-poppy "Particle Physics," featuring a fat bass line, candy-coated synth, exuberant hooks and guest vocalist (and co-writer) Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy; it's uncanny when the singers' vocals entwine like some friendly emo monster. "She Is Afraid" is old-school emo pop, packing in angular, see-sawing guitar and a very MCS singalong bridge. "You Know Who the Fuck We Are" sounds like an army of Pierre clones are joining him on the catchy, soaring chorus. He races through verses, packing in as many words as possible—a Pierre signature—on “Things Like This," which feels the most akin to the band's Commit This to Memory or My Dinosaur Life. Pierre, who has been open about getting sober and his mental health struggles, has said that, unlike with past lyrics that focused on those challenges, he's on stronger ground now. But he never goes easy on himself. "Can't stop/ Gotta get up and run/ Don't walk/ Never ever show emotions/ Non-stop talk/ Slow down and you'll never get back on track ... Type 2, as the Enneagram displays/ And I'm always exhausted," he sings over the racing pop-punk and joyful hand claps of "Downer." (An Enneagram Type 2 is motivated by the desire to be loved and needed by others.) Citizen's Mat Kerekes lends guttural screaming to "Your Days Are Numbered" and poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva sings in Spanish on "Mi Corazón," which feels like a real departure for the band. While the chorus is clearly MCS, bottom-heavy verses and a start-stop rhythm strip away the usual sweetness. And "Bloodline," influenced by a short story by Richard Chiem, is more punk—and macho—than usual, with furious drumwork by the always excellent Tony Thaxton, punishing bursts of guitar and an almost psychedelic singing style from Pierre that, for better or worse, breaks clean through the mold. © Shelly Ridenour

Tracklist:
1 Some Wear a Dark Heart
2 She Is Afraid
3 Particle Physics
4 You Know Who the Fuck We Are
5 Melancholia
6 Your Days Are Numbered
7 Downer
8 Mi Corazón
9 Bloodline
10 Things Like This
11 The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World