Motion City Soundtrack – Making Moves Vol. 6 EP (MAD Dragon)
RVA residents who are aware of MAD Dragon Records and Motion City Soundtrack’s collaborative series of EPs, collectively known as Making Moves, have no doubt heard about it mainly in connection with Volume 4 in the series, which features Richmond’s own classically-infused power-pop quartet, Goldrush. However, there are 5 other volumes in the series, and with today’s release of Volume 6 in the Making Moves series, Motion City Soundtrack finally gets to contribute their own voice to the series that they’ve curated over the course of the past six months.
Motion City Soundtrack – Making Moves Vol. 6 EP (MAD Dragon)
RVA residents who are aware of MAD Dragon Records and Motion City Soundtrack’s collaborative series of EPs, collectively known as Making Moves, have no doubt heard about it mainly in connection with Volume 4 in the series, which features Richmond’s own classically-infused power-pop quartet, Goldrush. However, there are 5 other volumes in the series, and with today’s release of Volume 6 in the Making Moves series, Motion City Soundtrack finally gets to contribute their own voice to the series that they’ve curated over the course of the past six months.
And I certainly don’t want to denigrate Motion City Soundtrack’s other release from 2012–their fifth full-length, Go, released back in June by legendary punk label Epitaph Records, is certainly a great collection of songs–but in light of how excellent the two original tunes they’ve contributed to this EP are, maybe they should just stick to releasing singles from now on. “Severance,” the EP’s A side, is an incredibly striking song that is both slower and bigger-sounding than the majority of the power-pop jams that are MCS’s usual stock in trade. Rather than an obviously synthesized keyboard sound, Jesse Johnson goes with a very natural-sounding piano part, which mixes well with the ringing guitars from Joshua Cain and singer Justin Pierre. Pierre’s vocals are melodic and powerful without seeming overly melodramatic, and when the song finally kicks in with a high-volume crescendo towards the end, he contributes an excellent flashy guitar solo that somehow perfectly compliments the rest of the song, wailing hard without ever going over-the-top into cheesy glam-metal power ballad territory.
The EP’s B-side, “Major Leagues,” is a much more typical Motion City Soundtrack tune that will nonetheless be another powerful enticement for longtime fans to obtain this EP. It’s every bit as good as classic Motion City Soundtrack singles of the past, and could easily have held a prominent position in Go‘s tracklist, but instead is exclusively contained on the flip side of this small 45 RPM slab of vinyl. With it’s great singalong chorus, it’ll permanently stick in the heads of every listener fortunate enough to hear it, so it’s certainly worth tracking down–as is mp3 bonus track “Pictures Of Success,” a stripped-down cover of a much more elaborate Rilo Kiley ballad, originally released on that group’s 2001 debut album, Take Offs And Landings. Featuring only Pierre’s vocals and reverb-drenched guitar, Motion City Soundtrack’s cover is just as emotionally affecting as the original version, though as Pierre told Billboard, the decision to do the song came from a less-than-serious memory. Apparently the band were all up late making a cross-country drive between tour dates, and cracked each other up with ridiculous imitations of the trumpet parts on the Rilo Kiley version. The Motion City Soundtrack cover is a tribute to that happy memory.
In this modern age of digital downloads, it might seem strange for a band to not only release a 7-inch single but to curate a series of them that also spotlights the work of other up-and-coming bands they consider worthy. However, by creating these tangible artifacts, Motion City Soundtrack and MAD Dragon Records have offered listeners an opportunity to more closely engage with smaller amounts of music, and hopefully develop a stronger relationship with them than one typically has with the millions of mp3s we all have on our ipods these days. This EP will definitely reward that attention–all three of the songs offered here, and especially the two Motion City Soundtrack originals, are the sort of excellent, immediately enjoyable tracks that will not only stand up to but encourage repeat plays. Get this record and let it take up residence on your turntable. You won’t regret it.
