REVIEW: "Even If It Kills Me" - Motion City Soundtrack

Here's what you've all been waiting for: the long-awaited review of Motion City Soundtrack's "Even If It Kills Me" (or maybe I'm just flattering myself). The CD gets off to a surprisingly weak start with "Fell In Love Without You." This is a decent pop song and even gives a great lyric: "only time will tell if violins will swell in memory of what we used to call in love." The problem? A gut wrenching key change towards the end of the track. Personally, I had to to restrain myself from slamming my iPod against my forehead. Luckily, the song is salvaged in the infinitely better acoustic version of the song (sans key change), which is included in bonus track version of the CD. Batting second is "This Is For Real," a weak track that demands comparisons to (wince) Plain White T's. After these two bumps in the road, however, EIIKM morphs into an above average pop album. There's no doubt this record is saturated with pop, but unlike the T's, Motion City manages to create pop songs with soul and substance. Lead singer Justin Pierre's incredible range mixes with poignant lyrics to produce soaring melodies soaked in sugary pop goodness. There's nothing quite as catchy as "Everything Is Alright" (MCS's hit from their album "Commit This To Memory), but "Broken Heart" comes dang close. That is perhaps this album's biggest flaw. Not enough of the songs are instantly catchy, which is usually the goal of the pop genre. However, unlike most pop bands, Motion City Soundtrack has something to fall back on; be it Pierre's vocals, the poetically ironic lyrics (i.e. "You're too afraid to face the outcome. Quite likely, you're a failure. It's a sh*tty thing to say, but hey man, the clock is ticking") or the driving, hand-clapping beats. Overall this is a very good, but not great CD. Its better than most pop out there, but its not quite at the same level as Motion City's other material.

CD I'M LISTENING TO: (see above)

CD I NEED TO GET: "Incredibad" - The Lonely Island

CD I WANT TO GET: "Fashion Nugget" - Cake

CD I'M INTERESTED IN: "NOW That's What I Call Power Ballads"