Motion City Soundtrack has embarked on its first tour in more than a year with Tucson as one of its stops. The band is performing along with Set Your Goals, This Providence and The Swellers on Saturday at the Rialto Theatre for “”The Dino Initiative Tour.””

Last month marked the release of Motion City Soundtrack’s latest album, My Dinosaur Life, as well as a switch to a major label, Columbia Records.

Along with the new hype, the album, produced by Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, has a “”radio-ready balance between mayhem and melody,”” according to Spin.com. The album was mixed by Andy Wallace who has also worked on albums by Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Kaiser Chiefs. 

The new sound may be less synthy, but it still contains lead singer Justin Pierre’s signature poppy jingles. The lyrics are simple and true, reflective of the band’s journey: struggling and not quite making it into the mainstream.

Despite losing and gaining members, co-founders Pierre and Joshua Cain have stood by the band since its formation in 1997. The band has also dealt with drug problems. Pierre drew upon his battle with drugs for Even if It Kills Me, his first album written while completely sober. The songs still tell stories about the ups and downs of life drawn from the members’ personal experiences and the people they know.

Motion City Soundtrack has won two mtvU Woodie Awards, one in 2005 for Best New Artist and the other in 2008 for the Best Video Woodie for the song “”It Had to Be You.”” The group headlined Warped Tour, Bamboozle and mtvU Campus Invasion Tour.

Motion City Soundtrack’s music has been featured on The CW’s “”Gossip Girl”” as well as the trailer for “”17 Again,”” so if you don’t quite know the band, you still might have heard them before.

In addition to the concert, This Providence will perform on campus at KAMP Student Radio on Saturday.