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Panic Stations (album)

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Panic Stations is the sixth and final studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by John Agnello, the album was released on September 18, 2015 by Epitaph Records. Following an extended touring cycle in which the group performed several past albums in full, Motion City Soundtrack lost one of its longest-serving members: drummer Tony Thaxton, who resigned from the group in 2013. The band continued to tour with new drummer Claudio Rivera over the ensuing year while writing new material for a sixth album.

Recorded at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, the album was tracked live, in a departure from the group's previous albums. The group lived together at the studio and completed its recording process in 14 days, the band's shortest time spent on an album. Upon its release, Panic Stations attracted positive reviews from music critics, but it debuted low on the charts in the U.S. and Australia.

Background

Following the recording of Go (2012), the band set out on the "4 Albums. 2 Nights. 7 Cities" tour, which found the band performing the group's past discography over two nights.[1] During that time period, the group searched for the label to release Go, which was being mixed at the time.[1] The band took meetings with various label heads, but eventually returned to Epitaph Records at the behest of label founder Brett Gurewitz.[2] Go received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, and it charted much lower than the group's prior releases at number 45 on the Billboard 200. Drummer Tony Thaxton departed the group in March 2013 following battles with tour-related depression.[3] The band enlisted longtime friend Claudio Rivera of Saves the Day as the group's new drummer,[4] and released a one-off single with him, "Inside Out", in celebration.[5][6]

The band embarked on a tour celebrating the tenth anniversary of Commit This to Memory between January and February 2015, playing the album in its entirety.[7] The group later extended this anniversary tour, and further toured the album between June and August 2015.[8]

Recording and production

Sign and driveway for the secluded Pachyderm Studio, located in a old-growth forest.

The group recorded Panic Stations over two weeks at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in June 2014.[9] Pachyderm, a studio best known for recording artists such as PJ Harvey, Superchunk, and, most famously, Nirvana's In Utero (1993), was in a state of disrepair for many years.[10] John Kuker purchased it out of foreclosure in 2011, and he and engineer Nick Tveitbakk remodeled the home over three years. Motion City Soundtrack was one of the first bands to record in the newly-revamped Pachyderm. Pierre considered it a "magical" place to record, due to its associations with Nirvana.[10] Additional production was contributed by engineer and record producer Mike Sapone. [11]

For the album, the group collaborated with producer John Agnello, well-known for his work with Dinosaur Jr., Walt Mink, and Sonic Youth.[12] For the band's previous few records, the band's songwriting methods involved sending audio files back and forth to one another. Panic Stations was an attempt to break away from that method by writing songs together rather than apart.[13] The band was engulfed in writing for the album in the second half of 2013, and were nearly set to record that October before there was an undisclosed setback. The band entered the studio with dozens of song ideas, "maybe 50 in total," according to Pierre.[13] Agnello advised the band to track the entire album live, a request that the band members had received from friends for many years. The process was designed to capture the energy of the group's live performances; as a result, the group was less critical of musical mistakes in recording in the interest of just having fun. The five members and Agnello lived together while creating the record at Pachyderm.[6]

Pierre spoke on the "back-to-basics" approach of creating Panic Stations:

When we were all younger it was like we just wrote and made music. We would get together in the practice space and just start playing. Somebody would start and everyone else would join in. And we started overthinking everything slowly over time. This was about trying to forget everything we'd learned and going back to the fresh, new feeling. Once the music is written and recorded, you can get back to the other, more complicated aspects of being in a band.[12]

The band came to the studio well-rehearsed and often recorded songs in one take.[6] The recording process was completed in 14 days, marking the shortest time the group had spent recording an album.[12]

Reception

Upon its release, Panic Stations received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album achieved an average score of 80 out of 100 based on five reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Colin McGuire of PopMatters characterized the music as a "burst of energy," noting that "There’s an assurance here that hasn’t been present on the band’s previous sets, and at the end of the day, it has provided an essential layer to a rock formula that needed forward movement in order to survive in the first place."[15] Jonathan Diener of Alternative Press deemed it their "most straightforward release," commenting, "Although the lovable weirdness seems absent this time around, fans will be in for a solid and consistent rock album from start to finish."[16] Rod Yates, of the Australian edition of Rolling Stone, felt it "one of the best records of their career."[17] The Daily Breeze's Sam Gnerre was effusive, describing the record as "11 slices of brilliant, fully realized bursts of unstoppable energy" that "sounds fresher in sound and spirit than any of the band’s prior albums."[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Motion City Soundtrack

No.TitleLength
1."Anything at All"2:40
2."TKO"3:38
3."I Can Feel You"4:47
4."Lose Control"2:31
5."Heavy Boots"3:01
6."It's a Pleasure to Meet You"3:43
7."Over It Now"2:46
8."Broken Arrow"3:11
9."Gravity"2:59
10."The Samurai Code"3:54
11."Days Will Run Away"5:23

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 80
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[20] 18
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[21] 22
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] 28
US Billboard 200[23] 141

References

  1. ^ a b Maggie Hollander (September 9, 2011). "Motion City Soundtrack look back with special tour". Boston Music Spotlight. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Wesley Case (June 27, 2012). "After trying the majors, Motion City Soundtrack returns to its roots". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Philip Obenschain (July 2, 2013). "Tony Thaxton on leaving Motion City Soundtrack: "I was becoming a very unhappy person"". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Rachel Campbell (June 10, 2013). "Motion City Soundtrack announce new drummer, Claudio Rivera (Saves The Day)". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Ryan Reed (September 16, 2013). "Motion City Soundtrack Channel Drama on 'Inside Out' – Song Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Jason Pettigrew (September 24, 2014). ""Let's turn up everything, have fun and make some noise."—Motion City Soundtrack on their 6th album". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  7. ^ Tyler Sharp (November 10, 2014). "Motion City Soundtrack announce 'Commit This To Memory' 10th Anniversary Tour". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  8. ^ Sarah Marie Pittman (April 30, 2015). "Motion City Soundtrack's 10-Year Anniversary Party". Pollstar. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  9. ^ Ashley Bles (June 22, 2015). "Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre". The Reader. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Andrea Swensson (January 9, 2015). "A new life for Pachyderm Studio". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  11. ^ "Panic Stations - Motion City Soundtrack - Credits". Allmusic. September 18, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "Motion City Soundtrack debut "Lose Control" from the forthcoming 'Panic Stations'". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  13. ^ a b Amy Ebeling (January 28, 2015). "An Interview with Motion City Soundtrack: Keeping It Fun". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  14. ^ "Panic Stations". Metacritic. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  15. ^ Colin McGuire (September 15, 2015). "Motion City Soundtrack: Panic Stations – Review". PopMatters. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  16. ^ Jonathan Diener (September 14, 2015). "Motion City Soundtrack – Panic Stations". Alternative Press. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  17. ^ Rod Yates (September 21, 2015). "Rolling Stone Australia: Motion City Soundtrack – Panic Stations". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  18. ^ Sam Gnerre (September 21, 2015). "Motion City Soundtrack comes roaring back with 'Panic Stations'". Daily Breeze. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  19. ^ Ryan, Gavin (September 26, 2015). "ARIA Albums: Lana Del Rey 'Honeymoon' Tops Australian Chart". Noise11. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  20. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  21. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  22. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  23. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
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