A funny thing happened when Tony Thaxton, the drummer for Motion City Soundtrack, broke his arm.
It forced the band to slow down the writing and recording of its latest album, “My Dinosaur Life,” allowing the bandmates to collaborate — perhaps more than ever before — on the songs.
“I do think it’s our best work to date, personally,” bassist Matt Taylor said. “With the negative there were some positives [in that we] got to spend more time at home working on individual pieces of music. It was a different way to work that gave us a fresh perspective.”
Not that fans — including Ric Ocasek of the Cars — have ever felt Motion City Soundtrack didn’t have a fresh sound. Moving from straight-up, aggressive rock, the band then settled into a mix of pop and punk that it further refined in this latest album.
Perhaps that’s because the band’s attitude — that in the past Taylor has sometimes defined as casual and at other times methodical — was forced to slow down the process and let the musical sensibilities of each member simmer.
“The reason we play music is because we were influenced by [many] bands,” Taylor said. “I don’t ever try to wean myself away from all music. I listen constantly. I’d starve if I didn’t.”
Indeed, Taylor and his bandmates plunge into other music before recording, taking a riff here, a riff there and turning it all into a Motion City Soundtrack sound.
“We spent a good five or six months of time together that was part writing,” Taylor said. “Songs were written around a drum beat or around a bass part. There was no telling where the song would go … which was really kind of fun.”
That also took pressure off the band to deliver safe musical choices that under conventional wisdom would be a big seller.
“We got caught up in that for a minute and fortunately realized that isn’t who we are,” Taylor said. “We didn’t want to think about that. We wanted the music to be raw and aggressive with loud guitars, and that is what it is. We pushed the boundaries in a couple spots … like having layers of synthesizers in a couple spots.”
If you go
Motion City Soundtrack with A Rocket to the Moon and Sing It Loud
Where: 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW
When: 5 p.m. (doors) Wednesday
Info: $20; 930.com
For a good part of the year, the band will be on the road, taking its raw sound to its audience. “I think for all of us, we are above and beyond happy,” Taylor said. “To have people come to your show and have the guy right in front [loving the] music, that’s what we want to share with people.”
