The Return of Alkaline Trio

Is there any pop-punk band more divisive than Alkaline Trio? Unlike their younger goth-punk/emo counterparts, The Trio had many years to build their punk cred, sweating it out in Chicago's beer-soaked punk scene and finding moderate success with their catchy melodies about death, dismemberment, alcohol and girls.

Their foray into the world of pop-punk wouldn't come until their third album, the touchstone "From Here to Infirmary", a bona-fide classic album in the eyes of many a Warped Tour veteran. Alkaline Trio always had a strong pop sensibility, but "Infirmary" found them beginning to lean towards dark power-pop, and while they maintained their trademark sense of humor and penchant for palm-muted power chords, there was an unmistakable shift towards a more professional product.

Despite the evidence that Alkaline Trio was on some kind of Bizzaro-world Blink 182 career path, their loyal fans stuck with them. But Alk3's next move would challenge those loyalists even as the band gained new fans. "Good Mourning" signaled a new look for the Trio. Matt Skiba had started wearing eyeliner, dressing in snappy black shirts and red ties. He looked like Satan's attorney. Likewise Dan Andriano had also adopted the black-and-red motif. The band had always had a dark side, but this was a big change from their former low-key aesthetic.

To many Trio fans, it looked like the band was selling out.
And you can't totally blame them for thinking that. AFI had recently rocketed to popularity with "Sing The Sorrow", an ambitious new album and a similarly gothed-up look. To someone on the outside it would seem as if Alkaline Trio was trying to crash the goth-punk party. Perhaps in reaction to this, "Good Mourning" opens with "We've Had Enough", which railed against mainstream radio-rock, and assured those who'd listen that Alkaline Trio wanted to get on the radio to give a voice to alienated punks everywhere.

Still, some of the backlash was outweighed by new fans who rabidly gobbled up the Trio's back-catalog. No band wants to lose loyal fans, but Alk3 seemingly understood that they needed to grow as a band, and this growth would be painful.

The band waited two years to release "Crimson" by far their most eclectic and divisve album to date. The opening song "Time to Waste" opened with a moody piano piece before diving headfirst into cascading octave chords. Yes, octave chords. The Trio had apparently been swayed by the sometimes unfairly maligned scourge of punk-rock for years to come, emo. I know many Trio fans who find Crimson unbearable. I still think it's one of their best works. The production is brilliant, although there's still an undercurrent of grime thanks to Skiba's booze and tobacco-scarred pipes.

Plus, it showed that the band was more than capable of straying from their roots without sounding out-of-place. "Crimson" veered from old-fashioned Trio barn-burners like "Mercy Me" to atmospheric synth pop like "Sadie" to Interpol-esque post punk like " Prevent this Tragedy". I could go on, but you should hear it for yourself.

And while the creative stretching was nice to see, even better were the advances in Skiba and Andriano's lyrics, as they shared vocal duties on more songs than ever before. There was still plenty of death and resentment of old flames, but the lyrics showed that boys had extended their perspectives a little. Death was explored with less morbid curiosity and more grim resignation. There was sadly less of the band's black humor, but Skiba had become far more poetic without sacrificing clever turns of phrase. Still, the album was a huge sore spot for many, many fans of the group, and some of them abandoned the group altogether.

The follow up to "Crimson", "Agony and Irony" was the first time the band seemed to doubt themselves. Perhaps the reaction to "Crimson" had caused them to wonder if they'd strayed too far from their roots. Matt had found some outlet for his new-wave and goth interests with Heavens, a side project he embarked on with Josiah Steinbrick.
In fact, it seemed he had grown out of the makeup and black clothing, perhaps it seemed played out after it was borrowed by so many bands between 2005-2008.

Unfortunately, "Agony" was neither a celebrated return to form nor a bold step in a new-direction. The songs grew poppier and the hooks on singles like "Help Me" and "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" were undeniable, but much of the album seemed undercooked. It was a solid album, but felt a bit lifeless. There was also a distinct lack of morbidity. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it troubled many fans to think Skiba and co might actually be turning into sappy middle-aged hacks.

I'm proud to announce that I have heard the first single from Alkaline Trio's upcoming album. It's called "This Addiction" and it's quite good. The band is releasing the album on their own record label, and the freedom seems to have rejuvenated them. This track sounds a little more like the young Trio, but it shows off far more competency than that band could have ever boasted. The instrumentation is tight, as are the harmonies. It isn't ground breaking, but at this point in their career, I think Alkaline Trio have earned the right to settle down and enjoy themselves, considering they've survived this long in a scene that often eats it's own.

I don't believe the band will ever be selling out stadiums as others have. They certainly deserve it at this point. But the group is just a bit outside of what's acceptable for mainstream pop-punk. Being dark is fine, unless you decide to sing about Charles Manson and are a known member of the Church of Satan. Although The Trio might appear to have softened in order to appeal to eyeliner-clad hot-topic shoppers, they're still on the outside, laughing at the popular kids as they catch on fire. (yeah, I remember the "Stupid Kid" video.)