Motion City Soundtrack: Not the Same Old Song
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK’s catalogue has always stood out for its ability to blend serious topics – mental health, societal decline, even climate change – with upbeat power-pop instrumentals and playful, sometimes whimsical lyricism. When we sit down to catch up with frontman Justin Courtney Pierre and lead guitarist Josh Cain, we are delighted to find that this witty candour extends to their non-musical personalities too. In our conversation, the pair don’t hold back from diving into the heartache and anxiety that fuels their intensely emotional music, all while cracking jokes, often at their own expense.
Before we can dig into the new record Same Old Wasted Wonderful World, there’s an elephant in the room that must be addressed – MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK hasn’t put out a new record in a decade. Why is 2025 the right time for the Minneapolis rockers to return?
“Well, the world is falling apart, and that’s one thing,” says Justin, not only referencing the US’s descent into fascism and the wars in Palestine and Ukraine, but also the COVID-19 pandemic, during which parts of this record were written. “We just kind of dispersed into our own little worlds and then came back together like Voltron.”
The reason for the band’s hiatus was largely due to the band members simply wanting to live their lives without the pressure of recording, touring, and everything else that comes with being in a successful rock band.
“We had been doing the band for so long and we just took the time to raise our kids, figure out what we’re doing and make other art,” explains Josh. “I just realised ‘nobody’s gonna make us do this, I’ve gotta make us do this’. I was just like, ‘I’m scheduling this, we are going to the studio’.”
Same Old Wasted Wonderful World is a triumphant return for the emo legends, with a title that represents how our pain follows us through the constantly shifting times.
“It represented so many variations about what’s going on in life and the world and trying to find a place of balance,” says Josh. “Even if things are shit, there’s a way to find joy and love in your life. Balance, I think, is the word. Because shit, we still need to figure out a way to move forward.”
The record has a particularly deep meaning for Josh, the catalyst for the record coming together, as he shares his mindset going into the songwriting process.
“A lot of us have grappled with our identities,” he says. “I lost one of my parents recently, and that changes your identity in a way you don’t know until you experience that. I’ve lost two brothers as well. It puts you in a situation where you’re the person everyone is going to come to. The record writing was from a place where I had found joy in playing music and writing by myself, and I didn’t realise how much I had lost that. This record was kind of a rebirth, like ‘oh, I want to do this’. You do it because you are driven to do it. That’s the need.”
Lyrically, Same Old Wasted Wonderful World doesn’t shy away from heavier topics, but in true MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK fashion, the introspective themes are delivered with razor-sharp wit and wrapped in sugar-sweet melodies. As frontman Justin describes, much of his lyrical inspiration comes from trying to work through confusion about his own feelings.
“I spend so much time trying to psychoanalyse myself and figure out why something is the case, but I often start with a faulty narrative,” he explains. “So it’s like, I’m doing all this work for no fucking reason, and it sucks. My wife and my kid actually know what’s happening, whereas I’m often in la la land.”
Even after a decade of absence (barring some underrated solo EPs), Pierre is still surprised by his own fame, admitting that he finds getting recognised or even receiving compliments from fans tricky to accept.
“You heard the lyrics at a time when it made sense to you, and you connected to it. At best, we’re a catalyst for you to change or to understand,” says Justin, speaking about when fans tell them his songs helped them through tough times. “But I do get overwhelmed by that. I definitely like it when people like what I’m doing, but I also don’t know how to accept the compliment.”
“I have a 15-year-old daughter and friends that have kids that are starting to become actual fans of our band,” adds Josh. “All of a sudden, it’s like, your kid might need help! But there are levels of relation, like there’s as dark as it really was, and then there’s the song version of it. So I’m always like, ‘you like it? That’s great! I hope you’re okay’.”
“My daughter says, ‘dad, you’re famous!” continues Justin, “And I tell her no, I’m not famous, it’s just that there’s a certain type of person with mental health issues…”
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK will be returning to the UK in May 2026 for an appearance at Slam Dunk Festival.
“I just want to thank people over there for being patient with us,” concludes Josh. “We haven’t been back forever – we had to cancel our last Slam Dunk performance because of the pandemic, so we’re so excited to come back and see all our friends in the UK.”
The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World is out now via Epitaph Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS125 here:
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