Ahead of its biggest hometown show ever and a cool batch of other summer gigs, one of the Twin Cities’ most popular rock bands of the 21st century has announced the release of its first album in a decade.
Motion City Soundtrack has set a Sept. 19 release date for “The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World,” which will come out once again on venerable California punk label Epitaph Records. The album was recorded with Fall Out Boy and Plain White T’s producer Sean O’Keefe and features F.O.B. singer Patrick Stump as a guest on one of its tracks.
The first single off the new LP, a Weezer-y sounding pop blaster called “She Is Afraid,” was posted to streaming platforms Tuesday. The music video for the song shows the now-middled-aged but still follicularly blessed Motion City dudes dressed up for an IT conference rather than the rock ’n’ roll shenanigans that ensue.
“I’m not trying to cause a scene / I’m just trying to understand,” singer/guitarist Justin Pierre sings in the single’s refrain.
Co-founded by Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain, MCS busted out of the Twin Cities scene in 2003 with its first album for Epitaph, “I Am the Movie.” The group made a hard run as a touring unit for the next decade and garnered a fair amount of radio play and viral success, but then it hit pause after the 2015 release of its last album, “Panic Stations.” A three-year hiatus followed, from which the band has been gradually working its way back.
Motion City’s next hometown gig will be on Day 2 of the Minnesota Yacht Club festival in St. Paul, July 19. Yep, that’s the same day Fall Out Boy and Weezer are playing the fest. The fellas are also due to play Milwaukee’s Summerfest next weekend, June 27, preceded by two gigs this week at a couple of fabled East Coast clubs, the Mercury Lounge in New York and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J.
It’s looking good the band will launch a full-blown tour after the release of the new album, which is now available for pre-order via motioncitysoundtrack.com.
