Earlier this year, famed pop punk/alt rock act Motion City Soundtrack hit the road to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their most popular (and, arguably, best) album, 2005’s Commit This to Memory. Produced by Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, the record was Motion City’s sophomore release, and helped propel them into broader mainstream recognition, cementing their status as one of the best bands of pop punk’s golden era. While we’re also looking forward to the group’s upcoming new release, due out later this year, we were pretty heartbroken when the first leg of this marvelously nostalgic run (seriously, how has it been ten years???) skipped Nashville. Back in the spring, however, a new leg of dates with The Spill Canvas and Sorority Noise were added, including a stop tonight, July 14 at Exit/In! Be sure to grab your tickets here, and read on for details!
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK
Hailing from Minneapolis, Motion City Soundtrack burst onto the pop punk scene in 2002, with the independent release of their fantastic debut album, I Am the Movie. Unabashedly poppy and energetic, the band’s generous use of synthesizers, expertly crafted hooks, and the gut-wrenchingly personal and often neurotic lyrics of frontman Justin Pierre set them apart from the pack, and quickly garnered the attention of Epitaph Records, who re-released their first LP a year later. Great as Movie was, it was still a compilation of several years of writing and figuring out their voice; by contrast, Commit This to Memory, helmed by Mark Hoppus and released in 2005, expertly managed to showcase what MCS were capable of when able to write one continuous, cohesive album, and, though some excellent full-lengths have followed, there’s never been one record from start to finish to equal how perfectly it managed to capture their sound. After briefly flirting with a major label move on 2010’s My Dinosaur Life, the group returned to Epitaph in 2012 for Go, and are expected to release their sixth LP later this year. Definitely don’t expect a lot of new stuff this time around though; it’s all nostalgia, and we couldn’t be more stoked.
THE SPILL CANVAS
Gearing up for an anniversary tour of their own later this summer (for 2005’s One Fell Swoop), South Dakota’s The Spill Canvas land more in the realm of alt rock and pop rock, though, over the years, have found a ton of success within the pop punk community. It’s been few years since we’ve gotten a proper full-length from the group, and, while some of their hype has waned, they remain one of the best, most underrated acts in rock, and their polished live show perfectly compliments their unbeatable songwriting.
SORORITY NOISE
If The Spill Canvas are a compliment to Motion City Soundtrack’s poppier, hook-laden tendencies, Sorority Noise are more in line with their experimental, heavier, and lyrically blunt ones. The Connecticut band just released their sophomore album, Joy, Departed, June 16 via Topshelf Records, and their driving, punk infused, rock sound definitely takes cues from the scene MCS sprung from. Be sure to show up early!
Motion City Soundtrack, The Spill Canvas, and Sorority Noise will perform tonight, July 14 at Exit/In. The show is 18+, begins at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.), and tickets are available for $25.
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