via//chicago

np: "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" - Motion City Soundtrack

I've mentioned several times in the past that I have a big weak spot for well done pop-punk, the tighter and more sugary, the better. Stuff like the first two Weezer albums, any of the Blink 182 singles, Nerf Herder, Fall Out Boy, early Green Day, Paramore, the list could go on and on. Minnesota's Motion City Soundtrack is another worthy addition to that list. Thanks to the sublimely wonderful "The Future Freaks Me Out", I discovered the band's debut album, I Am the Movie. While nothing else off that particular album reached the dizzying heights of "Future", it was nonetheless a pleasant platter of pop punk performances. I lost touch with the band after that album though, I went through a period of pop punk/emo overload and tended to stay away from Epitaph Records for a time. From the few songs I've heard from their second and third albums, Commit This to Memory and Even If It Kills Me respectively, it didn't seem like I was missing much. Luckily I took a chance on their just released fourth album, My Dinosaur Life, because the band is firing on all cylinders again. Mark Hoppus (Blink 182, and a dude who knows his pop punk) is behind the boards once again for this major label debut. While not every single track is a winner, it sags in a few spots (particularly the unsuccessful attempt at hitting Flogging Molly territory on "History Lesson"), there is enough sugary goodness to make this a worthy addition to my pop-punk collection. Hopefully we'll be hearing a lot from these guys in 2010.