Radar Report

THE POWER OF MEMORY

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK's cinematic punk strikes a chord

Forming in Minneapolis in 1999, Motion City Soundtrack propelled into the spotlight behind their 2003 debut Epitaph album, I Am the Movie. This power-pop five piece struck a chord with "The Future Freaks Me Out," an instant anthem that surprisingly almost didn't even make it onto the album. With relentless touring and an opening slot in Europe and Japan with Blink-182, Motion City Soundtrack were able to see the world, play to massive crowds and hone their punk prowess. It was on tour with Blink that the seeds of their recent release, Commit This To Memory, were sown. They asked Blink bassist, Mark Hoppus, to produce their second album and he was able to help the band members step back from their respective roles in the band. This space allowed singer/guitarist Justin Pierre to bring more of his personality to the songs and in turn acted to strengthen the group's cinematic sound. The honesty shown in Commit This To Memory truly portrays the work of five individuals that have found themselves while rediscovering each other and in the process have made an album with a big and powerful sound. For a group of self-described film nerds, they have produced a record that will certainly be the soundtrack for the lives of future rockers.

By Jon Bahr