Motion City Soundtrack have officially ended their decade-long wait between records with the release of The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World, out now via Epitaph Records. It marks their first studio album since 2015’s Panic Stations and captures ten years of growth, change, and reflection.
The Minneapolis pop-punk favourites are making sure fans get more than just nostalgia. Their new single Particle Physics features Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump in both the song and its partially animated music video directed by David Prindle. Shot by Jesse Cain, the clip blends humour, rapid-fire pop culture references and the band’s trademark synth-driven hooks.
Guitarist Joshua Cain explained how the collaboration came together, “We met Patrick in the early days of Fall Out Boy and had talked about him contributing for a while. He told us he had an idea running through his head about a song Motion City Soundtrack would have written but hadn’t yet. It was just this little riff and chorus to Particle Physics-and even though it was only part of the song, the vibe was completely there.”
That creative spark became one of the album’s defining tracks.
Motion City Soundtrack-Justin Pierre (vocals/guitar), Joshua Cain (guitar), Matt Taylor (bass), Jesse Johnson (keyboards) and Tony Thaxton (drums)-were once staples of the early 2000s alternative scene, delivering gold-certified singles like Everything Is Alright, six acclaimed albums and relentless tours across the globe.
After splitting in 2016 following a three-year hiatus, the band quietly returned to live shows in 2019. Fans were hopeful but cautious about the possibility of new music. Now, the wait is over.
Cain said the record was about rediscovering their original spark, “When we started conceptualising the idea for this record, I was thinking about what we loved about doing this originally.”
The result is a record that threads the band’s signature pop-punk wit with reflections on adulthood and self-discovery.
For the new record, Motion City Soundtrack reunited with producer Sean O’Keefe (Fall Out Boy, Plain White T’s) at Chicago’s famed Electrical Audio studios. Alongside Patrick Stump’s contribution, the album features Citizen’s Mat Kerekes on Your Days Are Numbered and Deanna Belos of Sincere Engineer on Things Like This.
Keyboardist Jesse Johnson says the new music feels like their defining work, “It’s a very interesting thing to feel like we made the most important record of our career this late in the game.”
Frontman Justin Pierre agrees, describing the record as the first time he feels settled in himself, “A lot of our past records are about ‘What’s wrong? What am I not getting right? Why do I feel fucking crazy?’… but I figured it out. By working through the hard stuff, I know who I am.”
The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World is out now through Epitaph Records.
Tracklist:
Some Wear a Dark Heart
She Is Afraid
Particle Physics (feat. Patrick Stump)
You Know Who the F*ck We Are
Melancholia
Your Days Are Numbered (feat. Mat Kerekes)
Downer
Mi Corazón
Bloodline
Things Like This (feat. Sincere Engineer)
The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World
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