Motion City Soundtrack

OK, MCS fans, you aren't going to like this, but Justin Pierre sounds like the up-and-coming star of the local high school musical. Now, before you get all indignant, we're not comparing him to Zac Efron or anything. The guy just sings with such a clear, sweet, yet slightly showy earnestness that it makes us want to go "awww...," followed by a bunch of emoticons. That "aw" factor fits the old-school emo vibe of the band's third album, which takes its cues from the slower, more sensitive origins of the genre (think Weezer) rather than its more recent, neurotically motor-mouthed incarnations.