The Story Of Alkaline Trio: Part 1
Artist profile:
Alkaline Trio
After several line-up changes, it seems that Alkaline Trio have finally found the perfect formula with guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba (the only original member of the band), bassist and vocalist Daniel Andriano and drummer Derek Grant. With years of hard work on their side, they have achieved a higher status than anybody would have thought (even Matt Skiba himself: 'This has gone way further than I would ever have imagined.') and are now credited as one of the darkest and most intriguing bands on today's alternative rock scene.
Since the release of, now fan favourite, 'Goddamnit!', right up until the present day, the 'Trio have been capturing the hearts of people all over the world and keeping them caught with their individual approach to music. 2006 sees them releasing their second compilation album (the first being 'Alkaline Trio'), an important step for any band and one that shows just how successful they really have become.
'Goddamnit!'
Alkaline Trio’s first album is still their most aggressive piece of work and perfect listening after that difficult break-up. Songs scream and bounce off the walls in the typical fashion of the time, where bands like Blink-182, were just emerging. Yet they harbour an emotional side where Skiba’s voice is a loud shout or a low groan and you can really feel with him as he muses: “I don’t care/ Who you’ve been sleeping with these days”.
Standout songs-wise, there are a slew of underrated classics ('Trouble Breathing') and tales of broken hearts ('Cringe') entwined with bitter tales of drink (San Francisco). It all adds up to their most charged album- you can practically hear the pain seeping from Skiba’s voice. Glen Porter does the job effectively on the drums and Andriano is a wonder-kid on bass. Why they didn’t break out of the underground scene with this is beyond us, as this really is what all punk music should be like. It’s raw, loud and, above all, bloody aggressive. In a nutshell, do we recommend it? Hell yes.
'Maybe I’ll Catch Fire'
1999’s follow up, 'Maybe I’ll Catch Fire', is pretty much the same as 'Goddamnit!', with little variations on the formula, yet somehow it's hard to care as the thing flies with just the same gloom that made their previous album so refreshing. It’s not as good though, with it jarring halfway, as the serious case of déjà vu starts to nag. But any album which can boast a fan favourite ('Radio') is always going to be more fun than it's worth.
At the time, the pop-punk scene really took off in the UK, where you could expect bands like Sum 41 and Blink-182 to be ruling the charts. Yet the ‘Trio remained that best kept secret. If bands like Blink were the snot-faced rebel in the school, then Alkaline Trio were the bad-asses who stuck their middle finger up to it and proceeded to run amok, seeing how bad alcohol really was and how obsessed you can get about girls. Again, the contrast was refreshingly honest and brutally cool. As mentioned, 'Radio' is one of the best songs they have penned, 'Goodbye Forever' is likely to get buried and lodged in your head and 'Fuck You Aurora' says it all in the title. Its not essential in most ways, but if you liked 'Goddamnit!', you’re bound to get a kick out of this.
'Alkaline Trio'
Now the ‘collection of rare songs’. A.K.A "We ran out of ideas for a while". In fairness it’s good, with plenty of choice songs, but it doesn’t have the cohesion and overall impact of its predecessors and what made an Alkaline Trio album (the darker than a Goth’s tights and louder than a Motörhead concert) had been removed and replaced with random songs which, chances are, you have heard before or sound like the songs that had been dumped off other albums.
It’s not bad and some songs on it are generally good, but chances are you have them off the other two albums and they offer nothing new to you. But, some songs are good, 'Snake Oil Tanker' and '97' are two immediate favourites and a revamped 'Nose Over Tail' provides some relief. But the rest seems scripted and predictable, with no killer song to drift the album from a poor showing. It makes for an album purely for the hardcore fans.
Ben Tyrer & Kat Christian
Check back tomorrow for Part 2!
Alkaline Trio Official Site
Alkaline Trio Myspace
Buy Alkaline Trio CDs | Buy Alkaline Trio mp3s | Buy Alkaline Trio Tickets | Buy Alkaline Trio Merch
After several line-up changes, it seems that Alkaline Trio have finally found the perfect formula with guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba (the only original member of the band), bassist and vocalist Daniel Andriano and drummer Derek Grant. With years of hard work on their side, they have achieved a higher status than anybody would have thought (even Matt Skiba himself: 'This has gone way further than I would ever have imagined.') and are now credited as one of the darkest and most intriguing bands on today's alternative rock scene.
Since the release of, now fan favourite, 'Goddamnit!', right up until the present day, the 'Trio have been capturing the hearts of people all over the world and keeping them caught with their individual approach to music. 2006 sees them releasing their second compilation album (the first being 'Alkaline Trio'), an important step for any band and one that shows just how successful they really have become.
'Goddamnit!'
Alkaline Trio’s first album is still their most aggressive piece of work and perfect listening after that difficult break-up. Songs scream and bounce off the walls in the typical fashion of the time, where bands like Blink-182, were just emerging. Yet they harbour an emotional side where Skiba’s voice is a loud shout or a low groan and you can really feel with him as he muses: “I don’t care/ Who you’ve been sleeping with these days”.
Standout songs-wise, there are a slew of underrated classics ('Trouble Breathing') and tales of broken hearts ('Cringe') entwined with bitter tales of drink (San Francisco). It all adds up to their most charged album- you can practically hear the pain seeping from Skiba’s voice. Glen Porter does the job effectively on the drums and Andriano is a wonder-kid on bass. Why they didn’t break out of the underground scene with this is beyond us, as this really is what all punk music should be like. It’s raw, loud and, above all, bloody aggressive. In a nutshell, do we recommend it? Hell yes.
'Maybe I’ll Catch Fire'
1999’s follow up, 'Maybe I’ll Catch Fire', is pretty much the same as 'Goddamnit!', with little variations on the formula, yet somehow it's hard to care as the thing flies with just the same gloom that made their previous album so refreshing. It’s not as good though, with it jarring halfway, as the serious case of déjà vu starts to nag. But any album which can boast a fan favourite ('Radio') is always going to be more fun than it's worth.
At the time, the pop-punk scene really took off in the UK, where you could expect bands like Sum 41 and Blink-182 to be ruling the charts. Yet the ‘Trio remained that best kept secret. If bands like Blink were the snot-faced rebel in the school, then Alkaline Trio were the bad-asses who stuck their middle finger up to it and proceeded to run amok, seeing how bad alcohol really was and how obsessed you can get about girls. Again, the contrast was refreshingly honest and brutally cool. As mentioned, 'Radio' is one of the best songs they have penned, 'Goodbye Forever' is likely to get buried and lodged in your head and 'Fuck You Aurora' says it all in the title. Its not essential in most ways, but if you liked 'Goddamnit!', you’re bound to get a kick out of this.
'Alkaline Trio'
Now the ‘collection of rare songs’. A.K.A "We ran out of ideas for a while". In fairness it’s good, with plenty of choice songs, but it doesn’t have the cohesion and overall impact of its predecessors and what made an Alkaline Trio album (the darker than a Goth’s tights and louder than a Motörhead concert) had been removed and replaced with random songs which, chances are, you have heard before or sound like the songs that had been dumped off other albums.
It’s not bad and some songs on it are generally good, but chances are you have them off the other two albums and they offer nothing new to you. But, some songs are good, 'Snake Oil Tanker' and '97' are two immediate favourites and a revamped 'Nose Over Tail' provides some relief. But the rest seems scripted and predictable, with no killer song to drift the album from a poor showing. It makes for an album purely for the hardcore fans.
Ben Tyrer & Kat Christian
Check back tomorrow for Part 2!
Alkaline Trio Official Site
Alkaline Trio Myspace
Buy Alkaline Trio CDs | Buy Alkaline Trio mp3s | Buy Alkaline Trio Tickets | Buy Alkaline Trio Merch
Comments
will
27 Aug 2008, 18:37
27 Aug 2008, 18:37
"my friend peter" is not on the album "goddamnit." that's the song that provides the lyrics “I don’t care/ Who you’ve been sleeping with these days”. that song is on the self titled album and is way better than "snake oil tanker" or "97."
