Review Summary: It's not another Goddamnit or From Here To Infirmary but it's a damn good album.
I might as well start out by saying that i'm a big fan of Alkaline Trio and I have been anticipating this album since January. I had somewhat high hopes for
Agony & Irony but I thought it would be a grower like
Crimson was.
Crimson took a few listens to grow on me not because it was a departure from their punk roots, but because it wasn't exactly a cohesive album. The first half was excellent while it lost it's edge towards the end of the album. That was pretty much what I was expecting with
Agony & Irony, only to be proved very wrong.
Agony & Irony is much more cohesive than
Crimson as it flows perfectly from start to finish. Beginning with the catchy number, "Calling All Skeletons" powered by an infectious riff and handclaps. After it comes "Help Me" which is a tribute to deceased Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis. The repeated line of "Help me, help me wont you, sing me, sing me one last song" is very weak after the strong verses but it does carry a catchy rythmn which will get stuck in your head for hours afterwards. Then comes the jazzy "In Vein" which is another strong track. The first bump in the road comes on "Over & Out" it's verses are quite dull but they lead into a great chorus. It's not a bad song but it's sort of a letdown after how much momentum the first three songs carry.
Agony & Irony is also different from
Crimson because it has a lot more upbeat tracks like "I Found Away," "Into The Night" and "Do You Wanna Know?" "Into The Night" bares a resemblence to the band's sound on
Good Mourning. Also, Andriano's songs are much stronger than Matt Skiba's mainly because of the choruses. While they are catchy, they are too repetative and aren't anything rememberable. Notably, "Live Young, Die Fast," the weakest song on the album, with it's chorus of "Live young, die fast, no one will last." The last few tracks are some of the best ones on the album like "Lost and Rendered," driven by powerful synth-laden guitar. "Ruin It" and "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" are other note-worthy tracks found in the latter half of
Agony & Irony.
If you were expecting the Trio to make another album that sounds like
Goddamnit or
From Here To Infirmary then you might be disappointed with
Agony & Irony. If you've enjoyed most of the band's material then you will probably like this album too. Those who were let down by
Crimson might enjoy this album after a few listens since it's more similar to
Good Mourning than
Crimson. A lot of their punk roots aren't present on here but they've made a great rock record and their songwriting has matured a lot. This is growing to be one of my favorite releases of 2008.
Key/Favorite Tracks: Calling All Skeletons, In Vein, I Found Away, Lost & Rendered
Rating: 8.50/10
