A quick note here just to say that some people could view this as being biased because I am a huge fan of Alkaline Trio (in fact I am wearing one of their T-Shirts as I write this), and as such could have bumped up the score. However, I will try my best to be unbiased and fair. This is probably my 3rd favourie album of theirs by the way.
Ok. Now that's out of the way, let's look at the CD. This is a re-release of Alkaline Trio's first full length album, with 4 extra tracks (I believe to be otherwise found on 2000's self-titled album), which were written and released on EPs before the album came out. After this album, they would release a second on Kung Fu/Asian Man records before moving to the mainstream with From Here To Infirmary and then Good Mourning and 2005's Crimson. As we speak, they only began to make big waves in Britain and the mainstream with the singles of Crimson, but that was their 6th album (if you include their self titled album). If you listened to that album you would have noticed a very polished, smooth, punk rock feast of maturity and gothic lyrics. So this is the album that launched them to that. Let's look at it track by track:
1 Cringe: A great opening to the album and a favourite of theirs from their old days. A good punk riff, and a brilliant bass line going underneath if you can hear it. The drums are also good. This is just a very good punk song, with goth lyrics. Matt Skiba's voice here manages to be both smooth and coarse, it's a good thing to hear. I give it 4.5/5
2. COP: Woah! What is Matt doing to the guitar? I think he is trying to make it sound like a siren, but it doesnt quite work, however he gives it up soon, and it is a similar romp through a story about a failed, fat cop as told by a prisoner. Listen out for Dan's backing vocals, they are also very good. This is not quite as good as Cringe, but still promising. 3.5/5
3 San Fransisco: a quick quiet intro leads to a louder one. This song utilises the idea of a quiet chorus (well, quieter), with a very very good bassline taking the melody for most of it, before doing a Nirvana-esque loud chorus. More catchy than the previous two. If I am honest, the song doesn't change after the first chorus and goes on for a tad too long, so 3.5/5
4. Nose Over Tail: before I heard this song, I saw Alkaline Trio live, and there was a guy holding up a sign for the whole show saying "Nose Over Tail?" and in tribute to him, the band played it in their encore. I didn't quite understand why it was so good until i got it on CD. Good riff to open. Quickly to the verse, all seems to be going well, then "Find time to fake a seizure comes in!" with a rough guitar play, before moving to a smooth melodic line. It contains a very good line of "You're saving me", before going in to an instrumental part that takes up the rest of the song more or less. I don't know what it is about this song. It is different to the rest, yet it doesn't stand out at all. It's just well crafted I guess, with great lyrics and a great riff. 5/5
5. As You Were: This is a weak one on the album. Not bad, just not as good. I don't like the sudden verse to chorus part, it seems like a juxt position. But the bridge of "praying for you to fall" is very good. So I give it 2.5/5
6. Enjoy Your Day: This is an acoustic number and it is the first song sung by Dan. His young voice breaks a couple of times, but as far as acoustic punk songs go, this isn't at all punk, it's a tale of heartbreak and reluctant acceptance. The chords are a little simple, and it's quite short, but somehow, his voice just seems so powerful, even though it is quite softly sung and breaks. I like this one for it's simple beauty so 4/5
7. Clavicle: The third of the triple whammy featuring Cringe and Nose Over Tail. The riff is fast and loud, and the melody is taken by the singing. My favourite part is when everything drops out and Matt sings the line about the Clavicle. You can sing along, you can jump around to it, you can enjoy the simple sophistication of Matt's lyrics and the drumming is just superb. It is on all the songs actually, not just this one. One of my favourites. 4.5/5
8. My Little Needle: And so we begin the decline. This is not a bad song again, but just not quite as good. The backing vocals are a little worrying when it comes to the chorus. I just don't think the song ever finds its feet, it just seems a bit shambolic, and although I like a rough, raw song, this feels like it is trying too hard to be so. It has it's good moments though, the quiet verse does make nice listening to. 3/5
9. Southern Rock: Same as before really. Quiet verse, seems to be slowly building to something, before the chorus comes in. It sounds very familiar to My Little Needle in terms of music, the vocals are a little different though. The quiet verse just seems to be a bit of a let down following the chorus. However the instrumental at the end is very good. 3/5
10. Message From Kathlene: This song can creep up on you I tell you! If you only pay half an ear, the only real difference would be Dan singing again (yay! at this point you may be sick of Matt). But listen carefully and you hear a polished yet rough song (compare it to their later stuff for roughness) and the lyrics are very beautiful. With Matt taking backing vocals to better effect than Dan, this song is IT. A B-side classic. Only real let down is that the second verse is basically the same as the first. However, Dan's little scream is wonderful to hear. Just listen to this song. NOW. sorry, that was a bit harsh of me! 5/5
11. Trouble Breathing: It builds up via an instrumental, to the verse. It is a tad in the same vein as tracks 8 and 9, but it is the pick of the three. The interplay between the two voices is something great to hear. It develops very well, and builds and drops down and is just very well written, but it goes n for a bit too long. 3.5/5
12. Sorry About That: The second and last of the acoustics (they didn't do another one for 5 years and 2 albums!) and this is even better than the first. I know I criticized Enjoy Your Day for having simple chords etc. and this one has the same thing, but it just seems to work better, as if it was just an accompaniement, and the real instrument is Matt's voice (the best song he has sung by the way). It is very beautiful, and could make the more sensitive among you cry. If it is let down at all, it is the ending being Matt shouting "maybe with me" and his voice failing so it sounds grating. But none the less, very very good. 4.5/5
13. Bleeder: and so we enter the bonus tracks. If you know Maybe I'll Catch Fire, ( the song), then this sounds remarkably like it at the beginning. Very nice verse, Matt seems to be hushing himself first of all, before doing a more typical singing routine for the second verse. The lyrics are very good. The drums especially stand out here. If I am honest, the chorus sounds like tracks 8 and 9, but it is more polished and is more pleasing to hear. The song continues as it has begun, before going into an instrumental at the end. Very nice song, bit long, but very good to hear. 4/5
14. Cooking Wine: This one begins oddly, more of a slow, but loud riff, before the verse starts, with just a few chords of electric guitar. Listen to the words, they are some of the sharpest and wittiest and make the song worth its place here, without the rest of the song! Unforunately, they repeat, but you can't have too much of a good thing! I really like this song because it begins differently, but ends up being the same as the rest, meaning that even within the album, the Trio have come up with plenty of variations on a theme. 4/5
15. My Friend Peter: Straight in this time, no messing. Fast riff leads in to the chorus, before the song drops to drums and then builds it up again to the riff. Very quick song, very well sung, and just a very good. The lyrics confuse me a tad, but I get the jist. Drumming is a very important part of this song. I especially like the part about 1:45 in when he goes "to wipe this stupid smile off my ****in' face" because it is such a variation on the song as a whole. Very good 4/5
16. 97. And so we come to an end. And what an end. This song is legendary in the fan base. It is always a toss up to see whether this or Radio (off Maybe I'll Catch Fire) will end shows. To start with, it might not sound too different to any of the other songs on here, but it goes from being simple chords to a nice little melody line in the verse. The song continues as such, with the stop start pattern and melody in amongst the noise. The inter-verse instrumental is very good, and then Matt screams the same words for the second verse, adding a sense of desperation, especially when he screams "Eighteen Months!". Then we come to the fabled bass solo/interlude, over which Matt repeats "I don't deserve this" becoming slowly louder as more instruments are added. It is simply wonderful to hear. This is their Master Of Puppets or Silver**** in terms of it being lengthy and brilliant. If there is one bad point (which is being uber-picky) it is that the last 15 seconds or so just seem to fade out gracefully after Matt's last scream, which doesnt quite fit as an ending, but fits with the song.
In summary then, this is a very good album, and if you like Alkaline Trio on albums such as From Here To Infirmary, and Maybe I'll Catch Fire, then this is must have buying. This is where beauty and melody crashed with raw punk rock, and came out with something great. they keep their songs quite short, the drumming and bass are superb, the guitaring is nothing special in the world, but is good. You may not believe this is the first album of the same guys who wrote "Time To Waste" but you better believe it. Buy this to see how far they have come to the band they are today.
If you don't know Alkaline Trio, then I recommend this for people who like early Green Day and bands of that type, as well as people who like goth-punk of AFI and the Misfits, not forgetting the Damned. They brought the gothic nature of punk to the ears of bands such as My Chemical Romance et al, who took that idea and made it catchier and more available. But these guys are better in my opinion. Just too awkward to cash in on the big fat punk rock pop dollar as others do, they do it for themselves and they have done it better than anyone else. They'll be huge soon, please try and understand why!
P.S. that was my first review, could you not tell? Bear that in mind when you subject me to your constructive criticism please!
