Panic Stations
by Motion City Soundtrack
  • Record Label: Epitaph
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2015
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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  1. Kerrang!
    Sep 24, 2015
    80
    Like a poison ice cream, MCS are once again delicious, but deadly. [26 Sep 2015, p.52]
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  2. PopMatters
    Sep 17, 2015
    70
    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.
  3. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Sep 17, 2015
    75
    This is an album for the Spotify era--a disparate collection of eleven singles, with no unifying message or even common mindset I can discern.
  5. Alternative Press
    Sep 17, 2015
    80
    Although the lovable weirdness seems absent this time around, fans will be in for a solid and consistent rock album from start to finish.
  6. Exclaim
    Sep 17, 2015
    80
    Panic Stations is an easy and enjoyable listen, with all of the energy and dynamism that fans have come to love and expect from Motion City Soundtrack.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 4 out of 17
  1. mau1
    Dec 4, 2015
    2
    Coming from a long time fan of MCS, "Panic Stations" is the most uninspired sounding LP the quintet has released to date. Almost every songComing from a long time fan of MCS, "Panic Stations" is the most uninspired sounding LP the quintet has released to date. Almost every song trods along at the same pace, never truly jumping into anything musically interesting. The lyrical stylings of Justin Pierre are few and far between, ranging from really smart to really asinine and boring. The drumming, a staple of the MCS formula, is disparagingly simple for the majority of the record. The few standouts (Gravity, Days Will Run Away, I Can Feel You) only standout because of the mediocrity they are positioned around. They would be the "okay" tracks on any other record. The production choices, while pointed, fail to deliver anything substantial. It does indeed sound "live", but did anyone ever stop to ask if that was a good idea? Unproduced vocals, shoddy mixing, these and several other factors lead to a thoroughly disappointing experience.… Full Review »
  2. NewVegasGod
    Oct 13, 2015
    8
    While it's a clear step up from Go, it's sometimes unclear whether or not this album can live up to the Commit This to Memory / Even If itWhile it's a clear step up from Go, it's sometimes unclear whether or not this album can live up to the Commit This to Memory / Even If it Kills Me / My Dinosaur Life trilogy. Ultimately, my answer is not quite, but it comes very close.

    Panic Stations starts off strong with Anything at All, a barn burning opening track reminiscent of Attractive Today, Fell in Love Without You, or Woker Bee. It builds up a lot of energy and momentum that helps you forgive the immediate hiccup in the second track, TKO.

    In my opinion, TKO is the weakest song on the album and a horrible choice for the lead single. With the dull, chugging bass line and an extremely lackluster chorus, this track does away with a lot of the energy that Anything at All created.

    The third track, I Can Feel You, remedies this. I Can Feel You stands along some of Motion City's best, and is easily my favorite song on the album. It starts off with a slow, mellow, The Cure-sy vibe, and builds into an explosive bridge that will go down as one of the best moments in Motion City's discography.

    The next song on the album, Lose Control, is a bit of an interesting case. It sounds almost nothing like the Motion City we know and love, and definitely threw me off at first listen. After a few listens, though, it grew on me. People criticize it for its generic chorus and bored-sounding singing, but I honestly think that was by design. If you explore Motion City's discography, you will find that "losing control" is not a good thing to them. He sings "woah, woah, it's time to lose control" as though he's dying inside because he IS.

    Anyway, track five. Heavy Boots. It's classic Motion City, and like most of the rest of this album, sounds like it could have come directly off of I Am the Movie or My Dinosaur Life. It's high energy, fun, and deeply contemplative. Basically all of the things you expect from Motion City.

    This theme is carried over into the album's centerpiece, It's A Pleasure to Meet You. It merits a similar description to Heavy Boots, but with a note that it's definitely a better song. Heavy Boots is a great song, but it can sometimes feel as though it's a bit safe or formulaic. It's A Pleasure to Meet You carries neither of those burdens in my mind. While the song can feel kind of chorus heavy, there's definitely enough variation to keep the song interesting all the way through, every time you listen to it.

    The seventh track, Over It Now, is a bit different. Musically, it's pretty standard fair for Motion City and is definitely fun to listen to. Lyrically, it has some problems. While it's quirky and fun, I'm not a fan of the message it sends. It's a break up song, but not from their usual perspective. It's hyper-vindictive and angry, which I just don't think suits them very well. I find them to be at their best with more vulnerable, sensitive songs like Last Night or Hold Me Down, but maybe that's just me.

    The next three tracks are Broken Arrow, Gravity, and Samurai Code. They're all okay songs, but they can kind of blend together, and they're all very similar songs. So this one blanket description will work. They're high energy Motion City Soundtrack songs about the things that Motion City write about. The worst song of the three is Broken Arrow, the best is Samurai Code, followed closely by Gravity. Also, I just love the line "It's not the weight of the world, it's just the way that I am" from Gravity.

    Now, the final track, Days Will Run Away, is quite a bit different than the rest of the album and really the rest of their discography. Its quite stripped down, and their signature Moog synth is all by gone. It starts slow, and explodes during the bridge, like closing tracks tend to. What's interesting here is the subject matter. This is Motion City at their most nihilistic and hopeless. It's a very dark song, and I quite like it. Just be aware of how dark it is before listening.

    On the whole, the album is good, but the latter half of the album falls short of glory, and the lead single was the worst song on the album. It's good, but it's no Commit This To Memory, Even if It Kills Me, or My Dinosaur life. However, with a better lead single and a wee bit more variation, it definitely could have been. I see this as a sign of good things to come from them.    … Full Review »
  3. JordanWarlow
    Sep 24, 2015
    7
    I really liked go and previous albums, I don't like this album as much but it gets better every time i listen to it.
    On the first listen I    I really liked go and previous albums, I don't like this album as much but it gets better every time i listen to it.
    On the first listen I was disappointed, but now i like it, the songs grow on you,
    I love this band and they always produce good music :)
    I also like the track 'inside out' which came out before this.
    i wish there was some bonus songs though.
    Solid album I say! Give it a chance.    … Full Review »
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