Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about The Motion Sick quite a bit in the future. Following up their critically acclaimed debut album Her Brilliant Fifteen in 2006, the Boston based band kicked off 2008 with the release of The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait…
The Motion Sick have a pleasing, catchy sound accompanied by passionate, real lyrics. The band draws reminders of early Weezer mixed with the quirkiness of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Vocally, frontman Mike Epstein (no relation to Theo) is quite reminiscent of Will Sheff, exhibiting the same passion and intensity (see “Walk on Water”), as the Okkervil River frontman.
This is not to say The Motion Sick aren’t unique. Each of The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait…’s nine tracks is a stripped down story dealing with life’s uncontrollable life. The album is extremely personal, yet not overly dark or depressing. Satire and seriousness come hand in hand, an element many bands seem to miss when trying to create an album that relives personal experiences. After all, life always has it’s funny moments. You just have to find them.
“The band threads hooks throughout their songs like skilled fisherman, pulling in ears with strong melodies and vocal harmonies…like a well-balanced breakfast with equal parts musicianship and honesty, musically and emotionally.”
Musically, the album is like most pop albums out there. It’s at times catchy, other times experimental. The rhythmic beats and cool melodies that make you want to tap your foot and nod your head along always seem to be present at one time or another. The album’s perhaps most unique track “30 Lives” is also it’s best, combining elements of “indie rock” with the funk of jazz and synthesizer. And it’s a track like this truly exemplifies the immense potential of The Motion Sick.
Spin has already caught onto The Motion Sick, deeming them the “Band of the Month” in January of 2006 and making them one of the finalists in the underground category of “Band of the Year”. And with the release of The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait… I’d expect many more to express similar sentiments.
[Myspace]
Check Out:
“30 Lives”
“Jean Paul”