Review Summary: Provides the emo-pop goods, but skimps on development, maturity.
When Alkaline Trio signed to a major label to make Agony & Irony, their new album, and especially when they announced that Josh Abraham (who is most famous for producing Linkin Park, of all things) would be producing the project, there was legitimate cause for worry. Not because Alkaline Trio were ever some model of indie cred or integrity, they always made simple, catchy, populist emo-pop-punk that appealed primarily to brokenhearted teenagers, but rather because part of what made the band as good as they were at their peak (specifically 1998's Goddammit) was the tension between their obvious pop instincts and the relatively lo-fi packaging which they were presented in. This distinction became obvious on their last album, 2005's Crimson, where the band recruited Blink-182 producer Jerry Finn who pasted on pointless keyboard tones and blunted the band's power, resulting in a stiff, boring record with only a few highlights. Luckily, Agony & Irony does away with forced sonic "maturity" and returns the band to it's comfort zone: catchy tunes. However, the record still has some problems that make it not quite up to snuff with the band's best material.
For one, the problem that Alkaline Trio has always had is still in full effect here; namely, although their choruses and hooks are top notch, they've never figured out how to make the build to those moments interesting. Thus, their songs are best when they're either really short or all hook, but the songs on Agony average about three and a half minutes when they should run for about two and though most of the songs' verse sections are simply forgettable, some are downright painful to listen to. Specifically, "In Vein" has a leaden faux-ska stomp for a verse that leads into the pretty great gang-chant chorus and "Over & Out", the album's worst song, works turgid suicide-ballad images that are only slightly redeemed by the catharsis of its big hook. Also, although Abraham thankfully doesn't try to add any electronica elements to the band's sound (with the exception of what sounds like a synth on "I Found Away", but it might just be a guitar with effects on it), he does lessen their impact somewhat by pushing the drums to the back of the mix and not letting the guitars buzz like they should. To his credit though, Abraham does crank up some elements that enhance the essential hooks of the songs, such as the hand claps on "Calling All Skeletons" and the extra guitar pings on "Help Me".
The question of why, then, given all this, to listen to this album at all is presented then, but it is incredibly difficult to convey just how great the hooks on these songs are. The Alkaline Trio have truly mastered their form: nobody does cathartic, soaring emo-pop better, and all of the songs on Agony & Irony have instant sugar-rush moments whether they're provided the swaying vocal on "Do You Wanna Know?" or the backup shouts on "Live Young, Die Fast". As well, the band can do an interesting bridge when it wants to, as evidenced by the overdubbed guitars and half-heard vocals (which remind me of Bruce Springsteen's "She's The One") on "I Found Away".
However, the largest consistent problem with the Trio is still in full effect here; namely, the fake-goth, tortured poetry aspect. While it is certainly possible to mentally tune-out the lyrics there are some howlers of lines on this record that are made worse by being sung with utter sincerity in Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano's consistently good choked vocals.
This frustration is nigh-inevitable when listening to anything remotely emo but consider the following: "Help Me", the first single off of the record is, according to Skiba, a song dedicated to Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, which is respectable, the band showing its debts to elders. However, "Help Me" sounds, with the exception of a slightly less exuberant chorus, like any other Alkaline Trio song. If one is going to pay tribute to Joy Division, an idea which most informed listeners would wholeheartedly support, one should probably also make an effort to emulate Joy Division's cold, caustic creep (which made their sometimes hammy Gothic lyrics much easier to swallow) when doing so. Alkaline Trio's sugar-high pop is pretty damn great, but it comes bearing to listeners the excess baggage of po-faced emo sincerity, presenting a conundrum as to enjoyment, especially given that this isn't their best work (that's still Goddamnit). Then again, in regards to good music, beggars can't always be choosers.
