In the world of pop punk, either you’re onto what’s hot and new as a band, or you’re a fossil. In the case of Motion City Soundtrack, the Minnesota outfit is digging itself out of the Jurassic Era that was its 2007 release Even If It Kills Me (two years is an eternity in the hyperactive world of pop punk) and cracking open something fresh. That goodness is the band’s first recorded material in two years in the album My Dinosaur Life.

The album marks a return of producer and Blink-182 lead Mark Hoppus, who last produced the band on 2005′s Commit This to Memory. It’s also the band’s first album since their June 2008 move from Epitaph to the big leagues of Columbia Records. In an interview with Billboard.com, Hoppus said the challenge he faced as producer was to keep intact the catchiness and further instill a dose of maturity into the Minneapolis natives’ sounds that he started back with Commit This to Memory.

“There’s an edge on this record that I’m really excited about getting into,” Hoppus said. “But it still has all the catchiness of everything that I personally love about Motion City Soundtrack. As a fan, it’s really exciting to get to work with them again and help them flesh out this new vision of themselves.”

The first song off the album, “Disappear”, is out on iTunes now. The band will be on a short tour opening with Weezer through the month of December. My Dinosaur Life is out January 19th, 2010.

My Dinosaur Life Tracklist:
01. Worker Bee
02. A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help)
03. Her Words Destroyed My Planet
04. Disappear
05. Delirium
06. History Lesson
07. Stand Too Close
08. Pulp Fiction
09. @!#?@!
10. Hysteria
11. Skin And Bones
12. The Weakends

Motion City Soundtrack 2009 Tour Dates:
12/01 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *
12/03 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom *
12/07- Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena *
12/09 – Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center @ George Mason *
12/10 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center *
12/18 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (MCS Headline/I Am The Movie)
12/19 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (MCS Headline/Commit This to Memory)
12/20 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (MCS Headline/Even If It Kills Me)

* = w/ Weezer