Pop-punk icons Motion City Soundtrack make a triumphant return with the announcement of their new album, The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World (Epitaph) due for release on September 19. For their first collection of music since 2015’s ‘Panic Stations’, the band doubles down on their signature sound with renewed energy and purpose, recapturing the magic of their early days while showcasing their growth and maturity after a decade-long hiatus.

Over twenty years removed from their 2003 debut, the quintet’s signature cocktail of neurotic charm and hook-laden pop-punk is still potent on lead single “She Is Afraid”. Conceived during the making of ‘Panic Stations’, its bendy guitar licks and quirky vocal delivery sound at once familiar and newly vital.

Frontman Justin Pierre enthuses: “As soon as I heard Josh’s bonkers guitar part, I flipped out. I don’t know how he does it. I’d been listening to a lot of Del the Funky Homosapien around the time of writing the lyrics, and I think his influence comes out a bit in the verses (but hopefully in a way that doesn’t sound totally derivative). I think the rest of the tune owes a debt of gratitude to That Dog for sure. Matt mentioned he hears some Faith No More in the tune, which is always a good sign, and now I hear it too. Hell, I learned how to be weird on stage watching Mike Patton on the You Fat Bastards (Live At The Britton Academy London) videocassette as a teenager in ‘90/‘91. I wore that shit out.”

“Don’t Call It a Comeback” isn’t just the name of a song off Motion City Soundtrack’s 2003 debut I Am The Movie, it’s also an apt way to summarize the band’s mission statement. During their initial run from 1997 to 2016, the Minneapolis-based group released six celebrated albums, toured the world countless times and achieved gold status for their hit single “Everything Is Alright.”

After taking a three-year hiatus, the band—vocalist/guitarist Justin Pierre, guitarist Joshua Cain, bassist  Matt Taylor, keyboardist Jesse Johnson and drummer Tony Thaxton—started performing live again in 2019, but even the most optimistic fans didn’t necessarily expect a follow-up to 2015’s Panic Stations. “When we started conceptualizing the idea for this record, I was thinking about what we loved about doing this originally,” Cain explains. The result is The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World, an album that sees the band transmuting the last decade of life experiences into the most catchy songs of their career.

Motion City Soundtrack On Tour
June 17 – New York, NYC – Mercury Lounge
June 18 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Stone Pony
June 27th – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
July 19 – Saint Paul, MN – Minnesota Yacht Club Festival