The Alkaline Trio. A band I had previously never heard of, I read some reviews,*downloaded an album*and instantly fell in love. They're a three man*band, kinda like Blink 182. The bassist is very good, as is the drummer. The difference is that the "main" lead singer does not have a high-pitched singing voice. Their music is amazingly catchy, but their instrumental is amazingly simple for music that is so good.
It's disappointing these guys don't get much recognition. They really deserve to get their music played, so people will hear it. But not too much, since I don't want them to get overplayed and overhyped. Perhaps I prefer it like this, kinda secretive, not murdered by the media.
The album starts with
Private Eye. I looked up the guitar tabs and it's one of the easiest songs I've seen recently. Very simple but catchy guitar riffs, audible and catchy basslines and good drums support strong singing by Matt. The chorus kicks in, and it is
very catchy, well worth the listen. A strong opener, and it puts you in the drivers' seat to listen to a good album. Already, one of my favorite tracks off the CD has appeared. The story of
Mr. Chainsaw is the lyrics. There's no chorus in the song, but they're unbelievable. Very good rhyming and creativity on the part of Matt is truly impressive. I was raving about these lyrics for weeks when I first heard them. He pours out rhyme after rhyme, and they're not even those cheesy forced rhymes you always hear. They're creative as hell, and I can't choose what lines to put since there are so many. But as for the rest of the song, again there's a rather simple guitar and bass part, but the drums are very solid and strong. Incredible song overall.
After such great songs, it's time for a break.
Take With Lots of Alcohol starts with a little drum solo, and I love the drums. This makes the song really attractive, but Daniel's lead vocals are a bit of a turn off. I'm not saying he's a bad singer, but it just doesn't fit. The guitars play the same chord repeatedly and it gets very old and annoying pretty quick. It isn't the best lyrically, nor is it instrumentally or vocally. Skippable track for me.
Stupid Kid is next. Lyrically, it's kinda rude and impolite, with "Remember when I said I love you, well forget it I take it back." Very interesting, strange and entertaining song. Again, there's repeated guitar chords, but there's a little riff, which is a bit of an improvment from the previous track, in my opinion. It's a bit catchy, but they can do better than this. I have proof in the next track,
Another Innocent Girl. Dan sings lead here too, and now I know he isn't a bad singer, pretty good actually. He sings with a strong voice here, while playing a good bass too. The chorus shows off his voice, very catchy and addicting. I really like the drums here too, even though they're not spectacular, they're addicting too. It took a couple of listens for this song to grow on me, but no more than that. I'm glad it did; this is a very good song.
Matt's back on
Steamer Trunk. I really like the presence of the bass so far, it makes the songs much more pleasant to listen to. The chorus is catchy as hell here, with strong backing vocals by Dan. Lots of drumming on the crashes by Mike seems tiring, and so do the numerous amounts of drum rolls.
You're Dead is a strange song, and not a favorite. Matt sounds bored singing, as does the instrument playing. Very repeated stuff for everything, kinda slow, if you ask me. Another skippable track and the worst part is that it's 4 minutes long.
After the worst song on the album, they come up with
Armageddon. Thank God, literally. Starts off right away, fast and catchy already. The verse is one of the catchiest and best verses I have ever heard. Strong singing is back, as are the energetic bass, drums and guitar. The drums have lots of drum rolls everywhere, the bass is faster and catchier and the guitar plays addicting riffs everywhere. One*of the best on the CD, along with
Private Eye. It's songs like
I'm Dying Tomorrow that make me a bit confused if I like Dan's singing. His voice seems to drone on, but in a bit of a catchy tone, so I'm not sure if I like it much. Actually, the lyrics remind me a bit of
Good Riddance because they talk about leaving and hoping everyone had the best time. Guitars and bass get repetitive, as does the singing, putting the song on the boring side. Not the best effort, but certainly not the worst.
To be honest with everyone, I haven't listened to
Bloodied Up that much, and I'm not sure why. It's a very good song, with great solid drumming, a nice voice singing the good lyrics, catchy guitar riffs and strong bass parts, basically everything you need for a very good song. Perhaps I was busy thinking that
Private Eye and
Armageddon are the best songs on the album. Same goes for
Trucks and Trains too, damn I'm really missing some good songs here. A high pitched guitar riff comes in, which is a bit rare. It's followed by a dark sounding bassline, accompanying the singing. The singing gets louder in the chorus, and that adds a nice touch to the song in general. Very catchy, another favorite from the album. The final song is
Crawl. It's very slow to start (the rhythm), but it does speed up, and it's accompanied by yet another strong bass line. Dan sings, and this time the voice fits. The chorus is very catchy, starts off right on time with the snare, and it splits...it just sounds good, can't explain it. Strong drumming on the part of Mike, and good guitar playing by Matt. The end is really annoying as hell though, with Dan singing, "I don't know who your boyfriend is." However, there's a good drum roll to accompany it, but the words are really cheesy. Overall though, it's a good way to close the album.
Overall, I really like the album. It's very catchy, lots of strong bass lines and drum beats and drum rolls. I like the way they use Matt as the main lead singer, but they throw in a song sung by Dan once every few songs. It adds a nice touch to the album, and sounds interesting. I like it, and I'm sure others will too.
Overall album rating: 4.5/5
