Motion City Soundtrack hits Fillmore, plus six new album releases [Seven in Seven]

Welcome to Seven in Seven, where each week we typically take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. And while venue doors are slowly opening again, due to the current pandemic they aren’t quite there yet. That doesn’t mean the music stops, and new releases are coming out weekly from artists you know and love and some waiting to be discovered. Each week we’ll be looking at some of the best hitting shelves and streaming services and a can’t miss show in the region.

Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out. Here’s what’s on the docket for the week of Jan. 7:

Show of the week

Motion City Soundtrack — The Fillmore — Tuesday

OK, things are a bit of a mess right now with concerts, so definitely check before you head to a show. Motion City Soundtrack is our gig of the week, but who knows if they will postpone, cancel or whatnot. The pop punkers have already done the aforementioned to four shows in the past week, but at press time the Philly date was still a go. Cross your fingers and hope for the best at this point. Having reunited in 2019, MCS is a band who definitely needs to be experienced live, so if you’re comfortable with the situation, the Fillmore is the place to be next Tuesday.

New releases

The Wombats — “Fix Yourself, Not the World”

Brit indie rockers the Wombats return with “Fix Yourself, Not the World.” Recording remotely over the past year from their respective homes, the band have had the goal to produce some of the most captivating, inventive and forward-thinking music of their career to date. It’s working, as they are about to embark on the most high-profile arena tour in the UK, though only time will tell if that translates on these shores.

The Dollyrots — “Down the Rabbit Hole”

“Down the Rabbit Hole” is a 24-track collection of B-sides, rarities and cover songs from the Dollyrots. The diverse collection from the Florida punk rockers features tracks from throughout the band’s two-decade history, remastered and including some previously unheard songs and alternate takes. To give the whole thing some additional cred, it’s being released on Steven Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, a vote of confidence if there ever was one.

At the Movies — “The Soundtrack of Your Life – Vol. 2 (’90s)”

If there are two things that we ever-arguing humans can agree on, it’s movies and music. A close inspection of all those iconic, generation-defining, flicks of the ’80s and ’90s reveal that it’s the very amalgamation of the two that does the trick: There’s no blockbuster from that era that doesn’t have an equally legendary theme song or soundtrack. At the Movies are fully aware of this, and on “The Soundtrack of Your Life – Vol. 1 & 2,” the supergroup led by Chris Laney (Pretty Maids) turn some of the most memorable and quintessential film songs of the ’80s and ’90s into hard rocking, entertaining versions you most certainly haven’t heard before nor ever expected to in this way

Steve Bernstein’s MTO — “Good Time Music (Community Music, V2)”

The Millennial Territory Orchestra subtitled their new album “Community Music” because the musicians of the MTO have been working with each other in various combinations for decades, with beloved virtuoso trumpeter, arranger, bandleader and composer Steve Bernstein at the center of it all. This time, they’ve come together to make this essentially joyous music even in the face of misfortune. It’s in the spirit of the New Orleans second line, alchemizing sorrow into a celebration of life; hence, “Good Time Music (Community Music, V2).” Well worth picking up.

Eric Nam — “There and Back Again”

The ever-evolving K-pop star Eric Nam hits back with “There and Back Again,” showing his evolution from what will be — let’s be honest — another pop fad, into something much deeper. For those weary of the K-pop genre who are worried about what they might be walking into with “There and Back Again,” take the chance. Jump feet first. Sometimes, that’s the only way to go.

Twin Atlantic — “Transparency”

Alt-outfit from Scotland Twin Atlantic are going all in with “Transparency,” seeing singer and rhythm guitarist Sam McTrusty spilling his guts on everything from marriage, male friendship and the absurdity of social media to parenthood, medication and his mother. Written in strained circumstances and recorded remotely with McTrusty’s mate and mentor Jacknife Lee, the album has come together more by accident than design when the world went into lockdown.

Soundcheck

• Motion City Soundtrack: “My Favorite Accident”
• The Wombats: “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You”
• The Dollyrots: “Just Like All the Rest”
• At the Movies: “Heaven Is a Place on Earth”
• Steve Bernstein’s MTO: “Yes We Can”
• Eric Nam: “Any Other Way”
• Twin Atlantic: “Bang on the Gong”