“As we’re waiting for the light to change we see this goth girl run to cross the street. A goth girl, running. You don’t often see goth people run. I think because obviously it spoils the whole image, right? You can’t be in a hurry and goth.”
~ Paul F. Tompkins
Call it what you will: an identity crisis, a marketing ploy, or a gradual evolutionary progression of older musicians that don’t drink as much anymore but are still trying to maintain an edge of darkness and desperation in their music. Old-school Alkaline Trio fans have been lamenting the bands steady slide into faux-Satanic caricatures for years. With a new album on its way it appears we’ve got a ways to go before they leave that affectation behind.
This latest album, This Addiction, was said to be a return to form for the group; they’ve come back to long-time producer Matt Allison and his Atlas Studios for the recording, they’ve pared back the maddeningly thick layers of overdubs and effects that have weighed down their last few records, and they even promised a return to the spirit of their early work. They may have succeeded to a large extent, but you know what they say about close only counting in certain situations and circumstances.
Alkaline Trio’s early recordings were fueled entirely by alcohol consumption, heartbreak, and self-loathing. Their brutal lyrical confessions went hand-in-hand with downright poetic allusions and turns-of-phrase; “Even Christ himself would cringe at the sight of your scars,” went the first song from their first full-length, setting the tone for four nearly flawless albums. But those elements have slowly dwindled, being replaced by an ever-expanding faux-goth sensibility that manifests in a lyrical obsession concerning all things hell, darkness, poison, vampires, death, and gothness. Bassist/singer Dan Andriano seems to be the only member not circling that particular drain, but with only three contributions to this album he doesn’t have the presence to counteract the cloying “darkness” of the other members.
But taken as a whole I would call this record a success, although their attempt to regain the spirit of their earlier work seems to mean re-appropriating elements of older songs in a new context. These things will likely be immediately recognizable to long-time fans: “The American Scream” recycles a guitar riff from “Warbrain,” the band’s contribution to the Rock Against Bush releases from five or six years ago. “Dead On The Floor”’s opening riff is vaguely reminiscent of “Southern Rock”’s, while the rest of the song reads like a more sombre “‘97.” Andriano even lifts a lyric from “Private Eye” and drops it into “Dine, Dine My Darling” (which is a great play on an old Misfits song title).
But those are minor quibbles. There are only so many power chords available to a band and if we’re being honest with ourselves there has always been a familiar thread running through a lot Matt Skiba’s guitar arrangements. It’s punk rock; they’re not reinventing the wheel. On the whole this is a very worthwhile effort and there are a lot of quality songs on here. “Dead On The Floor,” “Dorothy,” “Piss and Vinegar,” first single “This Addiction,” and most of “Lead Poisoning” definitely embody the spirit of their first records. “The American Scream” is the anti-war songs Skiba should have written for Agony & Irony instead of the god-awful cliche horrorfest that was “Over and Out.” “Draculina” is a perfectly serviceable song, although the lyrics are packed to the gills with the goth-lite keywords mentioned above: an Alice In Wonderland reference, knives, a character trapped in their “own living hell,” blood/bleeding, bullets, birds of prey, stinging bees, heaven, angels, demons, dark secrets, teeth “sinking deep” into someone’s flesh, the devil, and exorcism. And yes, an adult put all of those words into a single three and a half minute rock song.
That song aside I would argue there are only two big missteps here. The first pertains to the third track, “Lead Poisoning,” and is the reason I included that quote from Paul F. Tompkins at the start of this piece. It’s a classic four-chord Alk3 stomper with big hooks and a strong vocal from Skiba. But my issue lies in the trumpet solo that comes at the 1:50 mark. It sounds like it was lifted from a NOFX album circa 1996; it’s bright, it’s bouncy, and it’s definitely a playful move from a band that has really opened itself up to experimenting with new sounds in the last five years. But much like you don’t see goths running, there’s a reason you don’t hear a lot of horns on Bauhaus records. It just doesn’t fit the aesthetic of a song when Skiba is singing about getting poisoned, laying his weary head down to sleep, and praying to his dark lord. It’s incongruous, almost comical-sounding, given the context, but at least there is a good song wrapped around that moment.
“Eating Me Alive” isn’t quite so likely. I had previously chastised a song from their last record as Skiba’s most terrible work yet but he’s dug an even deeper hole this time around. The lyrics are simply embarrassing. More importantly they’re lazy, hackneyed, and trite. “You can’t sit there and tell me that I didn’t try/And I can honestly tell you that I never lied”? Really, Matt? Did that need to be said? And the guy can’t even muster up the guster to sing this song with any level of conviction. I’m pretty sure you can hear his own fucking eyes rolling as he’s singing the words, like he’s staring up at the ceiling wondering how it all came to this. I’m pretty sure overly dramatic, suicidal teenage girls will even laugh at this song. It’s just the worst. Skiba probably should realize that its okay to only have 10 songs on your album. You don’t need the filler.
And the song itself! What? I know Skiba said you were listening to The Cars a lot when they recorded Agony & Irony but that really comes through on this number. Everything but the chorus is draped in some pretty gross keyboards. I mean, I’m not a huge fan of keyboards but it just sounds like a different band.
As mentioned, Dan Andriano continues to be a big part of the reason I keep coming back to this band. While he only has three songs on this record (I assume he’s saving more for his new band/solo project, which I’m very pumped for) they continue to be some of the album’s strongest. That goes double for “Fine,” another strong Dan closer on par with From Here To Infirmary’s “Crawl.” It’s also a song about drinking too much and denying how messed up you really are. Talk about your classic Trio! Musically he continues to wear his Jawbreaker influences on his sleeve, something I will never ever ever complain about.
I guess what this all amounts to is the problem most people inevitably run into if they follow a band for a very long time: reconciling new directions with old perceptions. But for the first time it kind of feels like even Alkaline Trio themselves might be getting tired of their blood-dripping, faux-Satanic imagery. It’s been feeling more and more forced over the course of their last three records and I’m kind of hoping This Addiction proves to be the breaking point where they leave that phase behind. Based on the evidence here I’d say that could only be a good thing.
Alkaline Trio - Lead Poisoning [2:37m]:
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Alkaline Trio - Fine [3:17m]:
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Alkaline Trio, legacies, nice tries, pop, punk rock, the goths
