(Indie) At the Drive-in - Relationship of Command
 

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This is one of my all-time favouritest best albums ever, so I thought I may as well do a review on it, since I love writing them so very very much.
First of all – At the Drive-in – what a band. The band has become synonymous with music fans worldwide who appreciate great hard working bands like this one. This was their first major record label album (if anyone says sell out I will personally hit them with several golf clubs) and their 7th album overall. I personally feel this is their best; they seem to have matured in their songwriting (if you saw them live, it’s a different story...) but yeah. This album features two of At the Drive-in’s hits, but in my opinion not their best songs, ‘One Armed Scissor’ and ‘Invalid Letter Dept.’.
At the Drive-in are one of the purest rock and roll bands out there. Whilst not directly rock and roll, they have created their own genre, along with influences such as Fugazi and Led Zeppelin. Every song you can feel the emotion that is being played, and if you could decipher Bixler’s vocals, I’m sure they are sending out a great message. This is what I love about this band, and it was one of the saddest moments in indie history when the band broke up.

Before we indulge into proceedings, I would like to ponder aloud ‘where the hell do they get their song names from??’ Pattern Against User and One Armed Scissor are the only two of the twelve that have lyrics in the song. Oh well.

Song List on ‘Relationship’
1. Arc Arsenal
2. Pattern Against User
3. One Armed Scissor
4. Sleepwalk Capsules
5. Invalid Letter Dept.
6. Mannequin Republic
7. Enfilade
8. Rolodex Propaganda
9. Quarantined
10. Cosmonaut
11. Non-Zero Possibility
12. Catacombs

All songs written by At the Drive-in
ATDI are:
Cedric Bixler – Vocals
Omar Rodriguez – Guitars
Jim Ward – Guitars, Pianos
Paul Hinojos – Bass
Tony Hajjar – Drums

In my song reviews I will include a special ‘weird lyric’ section, exclusive to this band.
Weirdness factor Rating
Hmm 1
Hmmm! 2
Huh? 3
What the...? 4
****ing hell! 5

Arc Arsenal (2:54)
This album begins with a bang, not with a whimper. I smile wryly thinking of this band while recording the song; I cannot imagine Bixler standing still, he would be jumping up and down and overturning PA systems and throwing microphones everywhere. Anyway. After a bit of guitar, we are exposed to the real ATDI – Bixler screaming his nuts off, mad guitars and bass, and drum pounding. Ahhh. You can see (well, hear) the pure emotion that this band is unleashing at our aural pleasure.
Weird Lyric:
sickened thirst, sickened thirst/glues it together/a catatonic leisure/at 1000 miles per hour
Weirdness Factor: Huh?

Pattern Against User (3:17)
This is probably my favourite song on the album, except maybe for cosmonaut. This song is unrelenting. After about 2 seconds you will be nodding your head to this song, it’s just so catchy. While there’s no screaming as such (awww!) there is definitely a message portrayed, although I do not know what it is. A wicked bass line by Mr. Hinojos accompanies this piece, as well as some mad guitar work by Omar (I think – the left hand speaker guitar).
Weird Lyric:
circus carny guarding/the gates of heaven/like stuck in limbo abduction
Weirdness Factor: What the…?

One Armed Scissor (4:19)
An intro not to forget – every guitar player should learn how to play it. It should be law, punishable by death. Not really. Everyone thinks this song is so good, while it’s ok I suppose, it’s not one of my favourites. The changing styles is just not my thing I suppose. I like the chorus, and the third phrasing (dissect a trillion sighs away/will you get this letter etc) but yeah. At the Drive-in’s breakthrough song, it’s good in moderation. And that piano thing at the end freaks me out. Not really.
Weird Lyric:
banked on memory/mummified circuitry/skin graft machinery/sputnik sickles found in the seats
Weirdness Factor: ****ing hell!

Invalid Letter Dept. (6:05)
At the Drive-in’s longest ever song! Cool you think. Not really. There’s about four minutes of boring, meaningful **** you put up with, then one of the awesome-est riffs ever. So it’s probably worth the wait. Another song released by the band, if you have seen the clip, it is about murders of women in El Paso (ATDI’s home town) and that they are all unresolved. It’s nice to see them pay tribute to something that obviously means a great deal to them, but speaking in song sense, the song is to boring for me I’m afraid (apart from the last bit).
Weird Lyric: paramedics fell into the wound/like a rehired scab at a barehanded plant/an anesthetic penance beneath/the hail of contraband
Weirdness Factor: What the…?

Enfilade (5:01)
Great song. A high amount of substance was definitely used in this song (i.e. that weird intro thing) but the rest of the song is cool. It’s quite catchy, it’s similar to Pattern Against User somewhat. And I don’t care where I am (except exams) I always yell out ‘Freight freight train coming!’ it’s the best. Of course there’s a wicked bassline. Bass is the **** man.
Weird Lyric:
this syringe will take a lifespan/it's filled with bait and tackle
Weirdness Factor: hmmm!

Rolodex Propaganda (2:55)
Why O why they didn’t call this song ‘manuscript replica’ (ah HA! you’re saying. That’s your username!) I don’t know. Oh well. This song is too **** short for my liking. Like it’s over before you know it really. It’s so **** catchy, and kind of psychedelic guitar riff thing.
Weird Lyric: in infrared is how we saw/the night that lit up scarecrow plots
Weirdness Factor: hmm

Quarantined (5:25)
This is like the BEST SONG, it has sooo many cool riffs.
Riff count:
1. bass line at the start
2. guitar riff in the verse
3. bass riff in bridge
ok so there’s only three, but they are all so cool! And I love Omar Rodriguez, he would have to be one of the best guitarists of our time, at least one of the top 5 innovative. Just stick your head next to the left hand speaker. The bass is quite solid as well. If you have got about 80 spare mb on your computer, download Quarantined live at Channel V, or something like that. It is the coolest, and has a mad bridge (everyone improvises except the bass)
Weird Lyric: autonomous machete for hands
Weirdness Factor: that is off the scale. TOO WEIRD!

Cosmonaut (3:23)
I love this song. This is pure ATDI – fast, and screaming vocals. Ahhh. I love the lyrics in this song! I also yell this out, once on the bus, all these old people looked at me:
position the stitches/like miles of torpedoes/permission was hinted/lungs that hollered in a sleeper hold
please please listen to this song. It is so good.
Weird Lyric: here comes the monolith/brass knuckles for the hissie fit
Weirdness Factor: what the…?

Catacombs (4:13)
Like Arc Arsenal was the perfect opener to this album, Catacombs is the perfect end. Not a great song, but one of those songs that belong at the end of the album. I like it a bit – lots of screaming and riffs. And a bit of triplet action! What else do you need? Unfortunately I don’t have access to the lyrics (I have the booklet, but I can’t find it… oh I just found it… honestly!) so now I have access.
Weird Lyric: I’m just tired of counting bodies/is this mausoleum ready?
Weirdness Factor: what’s a mausoleum???

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Sleepwalk Capsules (3:27)
This song has no mucking about – straight into the screaming vocals. I’m not a big fan of this song, but I don’t know why. It’s obviously a great song, and the verse and choruses are quite good. The bridge though... everyone tells me ‘it’s so meaningful’ with the lyrics ‘Lazarus threw the party/Lazarus threw the fight’ but I don’t see what’s so good about it. It’s high paced with lots of screaming, so fans of ATDI will like this track.

6. Mannequin Republic (3:02)
In my opinion probably one of the let downs of the album, but it’s still alright. The guitar work is incredible. The chorus is quite catchy, and the only reason I don’t like it I suppose is that I have never really gotten into it.

11. Non-Zero Possibility (5:38)
Hmmm... this [I] is [/I] a weird track. It is sort of like a ballad, well it is a ballad, but there’s a problem – Cedric’s vocals do not suit this style at all. It is a radical change from every other track on the album. I don’t mind the chorus though.

Rating – 5/5 – of course. I gave it 5/5 because the good songs far outweigh the bad songs (according to me) and it is hard not to listen to this album and not like at least one song on it.

Weird Lyric of the album: Non-Zero Possibility - contusion is hungry/they still eat their young… wha?????????

cool - you reviewed one of my favourite albums of all time.

not-so-cool - you reviewed one of my favourite songs of all time (Invalid Litter Dept.) as "boring"...

In fact you seemed to hate my favourite bits of it, but meh - "Chocolate and Vanilla".

not sure you can rate an album with so many bits that you didn't like as 5/5, but yeah - good to see it reviewed.

I just got the "Invalid Litter Dept." single from the local indie store, coincidentally. Very good review, though, but I do have to say that I disagree with your comment on the aforementioned track. "Enfilade" is definitely a highlight, though. Also, "One-Armed Scissor" is one of the most recognizable intros in indie/punk music. Hearing that Billy Talent single, "OAS" was the first thing that came to mind and came to many people's minds.

Where the hell was Sleepwalk Capsules?

For the longest time the only thing I knew of ATDI was that intro to "One-Armed Scissor." I think it was on the radio once in a while. Now that I'm enjoying The Mars Volta, I can hardly believe that I wouldn't like this album.

A friend of mine let me borrow the CD, and ever since then I have loved the band. Their music is awesome. I wasn't aware that they had 7 albums though...I'll have to look into that later. "One Armed Scissor" is a great song, but like it was said above, not the best from the album. "Sleepwalk Capsule" is actually my favorite. Overall...4/5.

I wish people would leave at the drive-in alone, cedric and omar have moved on you should as well.

I wish people would leave RATM alone, Zack, Tom, Tim and Brad have moved on you should as well :rolleyes:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Ganondorf [/i]
[B]I wish people would leave RATM alone, Zack, Tom, Tim and Brad have moved on you should as well :rolleyes: [/B][/QUOTE]

yeah and...

was that aimed at me?

^^

Psst! He's mocking you!

Just that you said that was unbelievably pathetic. The Beatles have moved on, I guess I shouldn't listen to any of their stuff. :rolleyes:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SubtleDagger [/i]
[B]^^

Psst! He's mocking you!

Just that you said that was unbelievably pathetic. The Beatles have moved on, I guess I shouldn't listen to any of their stuff. :rolleyes: [/B][/QUOTE]

Um, no you twat if you knew anything about omar and cedric at all you would know that they dislike the whole concept of what At The Drive-In was and become, they hate the fact that because of the success of the mars volta people are now digging out relationship of command and vaya.

Just because they don't want to listen to ATDI dosen't mean I don't want to.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Ganondorf [/i]
[B]Just because they don't want to listen to ATDI dosen't mean I don't want to. [/B][/QUOTE]

Fair enough, but the point I stated throughout this argument is that Omar and Cedric the two people who gave you the brilliance that is the mars volta and also contributed immensely to ATD-I have stated they dislike it how the mars volta has basically made the at the drive-in even more popular than it become, and of course everyone knows At The Drive split due to the 'afro' half getting bored of making 3 minute songs to please other people so that they get massive and sell loads of records when Jim ward and co. was fine with doing it.

Plus I also agree with a post made somewhere else that the mars volta are becoming the 'britney spears' of alternative music, I feel too many people are getting into the mars volta for the wrong reasons and would prefer it if they did 3 minute pop songs instead of masterpieces such as 'drunkship'.

You might feel I am being a pretentous indie **** but I have had a special place for the two men from el paso and I aploigize if you don't agree with me but even if you don't fully understand my argument you must at least see why I stressed the point previously.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by HugheZe [/i]
[B]Plus I also agree with a post made somewhere else that the mars volta are becoming the 'britney spears' of alternative music, I feel too many people are getting into the mars volta for the wrong reasons and would prefer it if they did 3 minute pop songs instead of masterpieces such as 'drunkship'.[/B][/QUOTE]

how can the mars volta possibly become the 'britney spears' of anything? their only song that has been released is 6 minutes long (inertiatic + son et lumiere) , and all the other songs are too long to release. they are not mainstream at all. and what do you mean for the 'wrong reasons'? because they liked at the drive-in? well i can tell you the only reasons i've heard about the mars volta is 1. from at the drive in and 2. from friends who like at the drive in. i like the genre of progressive rock, and i will gladly listen to it, but i do not go out and search for it.

and, of course people are going to buy atdi records if they like what they hear... are you going to tell me that no nirvana records were sold after someone heard the foo fighters? same with so many other bands i.e. zwan and smashing pumpkins, audioslave and rage against the machine etc.

This coming from the twat who doesn't even know the drummers surname and forgets sleepwalk capsules and has a'weirdness factor' for each song.

I like how you completely dodged his argument

Amazing album for what it is, my favorite ATD-I album no doubt. It really got me into this band. Good review.

Um, HughZE, I liked ATDI long before I was into Mars Volta, back when I first heard of them on Grand Royal. Cedric may dislike the people who picked up ATDI after Mars, but I''m not one of those people.

So quick to judge.... :rolleyes:

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by HugheZe [/i]
[B]This coming from the twat who doesn't even know the drummers surname and forgets sleepwalk capsules and has a'weirdness factor' for each song. [/B][/QUOTE]

Considering that none of the four At the Drive-in albums that I have include their surnames in the booklet, I'm [i]sure[/i] you would be glad to inform me of the drummer's surname so that i could add it to my reviews?

[b]Cheers in advance.[/b]

I told you I didn't like Sleepwalk Capsules, so I didnt review it... If you like it so much, why don't you do a review of it yourself then?

[b]I would be very interested to read what you had to say about it.[/b]

What is wrong with the weirdness factor? I'm dreadfully sorry for trying to add a bit of humour into my reviews. You have to admit, since you have such a 'special place' for the two men from El Paso, that Mr. Bixler's (legendddd!) lyrics are not of the ordinary. I have highlighted this, without it dominating my review, and also had some fun doing it.

[b]If you don't like it, don't read it...[/b]

I agree, but you should review ALL the album, good and bad before giving it a final grade.

i dotn really agree with the review..my favourite song is non-sero possibility,lol. i dont really understand what you mean by it beign too weird, was that ever a weakness?..

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Ganondorf [/i]
[B]I agree, but you should review ALL the album, good and bad before giving it a final grade. [/B][/QUOTE]

agreed - and base the grade on the overall album, not just the bits you like - otherwise it's just a review of the songs that you like.

and HugheZe - thank you sooooo much... your posts entertain me greatly.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by frowned [/i]
and HugheZe - thank you sooooo much... your posts entertain me greatly. [/B][/QUOTE]

No problem my friend :)

if youre an atdi fan....get in casino out. its better than relationship. for those that are just getting in to a legendary band, they put on one of the best live shows ever. period. dl a movie from kazaa of them performing one armed scissor...its funny how the 2 fros run off at the end, showing the separation in the band.

Hey manuscriptreplica, do you really not know what a mausoleum is? Because it's not that uncommon of a word even though it's in an ATDI album.

non of the words are that uncommon, that's why the weirdness factor turned me off in this review

I tried to download a bunch of ATDI songs, but the only ones that came through were coincidentally all from this album. "Arc Arsenal" and "One-Armed Scissor" are great, but "Mannequin Republic" is a bit too much. Also, I deleted "Catacombs" because I really didn't like it enough.

[QUOTE=YDload]Hey manuscriptreplica, do you really not know what a mausoleum is? Because it's not that uncommon of a word even though it's in an ATDI album.[/QUOTE]

I don't know what it is either.

And I like his review.

I remember when this album first came out, I was getting out of my nu-metal phase as a wideyed 12 year old. The first time I heard it, I was in my dad's record store (RIP). This was one of the first great albums that snapped me out of my nu-metal ills. I didn't quite understand what Cedric was saying at first, but I knew that this was an incredible album and band. I knew that this band were incredible musicians and were destined to become huge. But then it all went downhill for ATDI, and it was never to be.

Months after my first listening of RoC, in January 2001, I saw ATDI (albeit at their abrupt 20 minute set at the Sydney BDO). This experience blew me away, and I had to have more. Through ATDI, I discovered such incredible post-punk bands as Fugazi, Mogwai, and Trail of Dead. I recommend this album to anyone wanting MORE. After moving through the ATDI back catalogue I discovered the great VAYA and In/Casino/Out, two other AWESOME albums. If you want an incredibly intelligent but non-pretensious album, this is it. 4.5/5

this album is one of the ones that most widely broadened my musical tastes...