The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, State Champs, You Blew It!

There may come a point in your adult life when you realize that a lot of what you listened to as a kid was, well, emo. Motion City Soundtrack was one of those bands that understood what you were feeling when you felt all the feelings. The five-piece, originally formed in Minnesota in 1997, officially identifies as pop-punk, but with lyrics like “Let’s get f---ed up and die / I am speaking figuratively of course,” it’s clear they’re in touch with their emotions. Their September release Panic Stations sounds similar, albeit a bit wiser, to their 2005 breakout album Commit This to Memory. With the new stuff, they’re playing around with more electronic instrumentation and focus lyrically on positivity.