Go by Motion City Soundtrack

Go is the fifth studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Ed Ackerson and the band themselves, the album was released on June 12, 2012, in the United States by Epitaph Records and the band's own label, The Boombox Generation. Previously, the group had released their major-label debut, My Dinosaur Life (2010) on Columbia; the band parted ways with the label due to the record's lackluster commercial response. Following this, the band returned to their home of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with producer and longtime friend Ackerson. The band entered a local studio and recorded their next effort on their own time and finances. The band recorded Go without a label, and put it upon themselves to pay for mixing and mastering and have conversations with distributors later. Frontman Justin Pierre composed the lyrics for Go, which is themed around mortality, growing older, and learning to live in the moment. The reflective tone includes subjects such as procrastination, relationship miscommunication, and optimism, but also personal struggles such as the death of loved ones. Many songs on Go were developed over years at a time, and several date to the band's first few studio albums. Musically, the album retains the band's pop-rock, Moog-based sound, with a heavier emphasis on electronic experimentation. Following the album's recording, the band entered talks with Epitaph Records, where they were signed from 2003 to 2008. Discussions with label founder Brett Gurewitz led the band to re-sign with Epitaph, who co-released Go alongside the band's own label, The Boombox Generation. It is the final album by the band to feature long-time drummer Tony Thaxton before he announced his departure on March, 20th, 2013. Go received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, and peaked at number eight on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. "True Romance" was the album's lead single, and featured a one-shot music video reminiscent of the works of Spike Jonze.