Alkaline Trio - Agony and Irony

Alkaline Trio – Agony and Irony
Record Label: Epic
Release Date: July, 1 2008

Tracklist:
1. Calling All Skeletons
2. Help Me
3. In Vein
4. Over And Out
5. I Found A Way
6. Live Young, Die Fast
7. Love, Love, Kiss, Kiss
8. Lost and Rendered
9. Ruin It
10. Into The Night

Let me start by saying that Alkaline Trio are probably my favorite punk rock band. With their latest effort, Agony and Irony, they seem to have said so long and good-bye to the punk rock that has gotten them this far. From start to finish, this album is particularly difficult to listen to as a long-time fan of one of the most influential bands to come out of Chicago.

Matt Skiba’s vocals on the lead-off track, “Calling All Skeletons,” sound almost unrecognizable. Fortunately, this is the only song to feature the odd-sounding vocals.

“Help Me” sounds a lot like Eve 6, which is a good thing, but not if you are looking for the Alkaline Trio. The next song “In Vein” is one of the bright spots on the album. Dan’s vocals sound better than ever, though he only sings lead on only 3 of 10 songs (where it has usually been half Dan/half Matt for the last few albums).

Next, we have “Over and Out,” a ballad of sorts that starts with a nice bass line and transitions into a hard rocking chorus. “I Found Away.” is a very up-tempo song featuring a dance beat in the chorus. It seems that when bands sign to a major label, dance beats start showing up.

“Live Young, Die Fast” sounds like an AFI b-side from Decemberunderground and has the weakest music and lyrics of the album: “So live young, die fast / No one will last / So sit back and relax / Enjoy the crash that fades into black and its gone / Live young, die fast, die fast.” These are very unimaginative lyrics coming from the man who penned the epic “Fuck You Aurora.”

“Love, Love, Kiss, Kiss” is a very awkward song that might sound better if it were being played faster. Luckily, the album picks up some momentum and ends with 3 great songs.

“Lost and Rendered” and “Ruin It” sound similar to the up-tempo songs from Crimson, and help to end the album strongly. Finally, the closer, “Into the Night,” ends things with a riff that could have come right out of Good Mourning. While it certainly does not break any ground, it was nice to hear something familiar. It is interesting to note that this is the one of the first times an Alkaline Trio record has ended with an up-tempo fast song.

Even though this album is almost a complete departure from the punk rock sound of former Alkaline Trio records, it is hard to say that it was completely surprising considering Crimson. That said, the music on Agony and Irony contains some interesting compositions that are ultimately dragged down by lackluster lyrics. While they contain common topics and themes one would expect of any Alkaline Trio album, they, primarily Skiba’s, are lacking energy and come off laughable rather than emotive.

Unfortunately, the best thing about hearing Agony and Irony, is that after listening to the last track of the album in Windows Media Player, “Goodbye Forever” from the self-titled rarities collection started playing and a great big smile landed right on my face and I remembered how much I love this band. Not even 23 beers could make me forget that.

www.alkalinetrio.com