Agony & Irony is Alkaline Trio‘s 6th studio album & sees the Chicago threesome split from their previous independent label to join with Epic records. While this has resulted in the usual backlash of sellout remarks (The band recently endorsed a limited edition set of Nike Alkaline Trio shoes), this is still a solid release that will should appeal to those that like their punk rock laced with a good dose of pop.
The opener number Calling All Skeletons is an great kick start to the album & sets the scene with the appropriate lines of “It’s only just begun, it’s been fun, we were fucked up and numb”.The catchy chorus filled with woah’s and hand claps may not appeal to those that didn’t enjoy the commercial (heavily produced) sounds of Alkaline Trio’s last album Crimson but it’s still a lot of fun never the less. The same could also be said for the majority of other pop rock tracks like Hold Me, In Vein and Ruin It, which may alienate a few of their older fans.
In contrast there’s also the darker edged material that the Trio are renounced for including Lost & Rendered which features alarm bells & ticking clocks that lend it an imposing sense of menace. The melancholy imagery and lyrics of previous Alkaline material is also present on Over & Out and Live Young Die Fast but unfortunately their slow pace & dull melodies only seem to hamper the flow for the rest of the album.
For me the most interesting tracks are those that continue to push the band into the direction they were heading with on Crimson. Help Me is a tribute to the late Joy Division front man Ian Curtis (inspired by the recent biopic Control). Their first single contains plenty of poppy “la la la’s” and some subtle piano work that brings to mind the story telling work featured on Sadie.
This is followed with the incredibly addictive In Vein. This wastes no time with a buildup & instead cuts straight to the chase with clickity clack of drumsticks & thumping lead guitars. With a punchy chorus “You recognize this shape, it’s the back of your hand; you placed it on my face here again, and again” and plenty of Whoa-oh’s & No-oh’s this ones got a great catchy beat that reminds me of the Against Me song Stop. I Found Away is another memorable & solid rocker that taps into the head with a dance/disco beat from drummer Derek Grant.
Overall the heavy production values and synthesiser effects really lend this album an energetic grand sound. While these inclusions won’t please punk purists out there, they effectively push the drums & vocals into the forefront & give the songs a rousing sing along quality.
Vocal wise there’s the usual swapping of duties from Matt Skiba & Dan Andriano. While Do You Want To Know demonstrates a greater expansion of range from Skiba, in general his singing style is still an acquired taste that may put some new comers off. Personally I would have liked a few more songs to be sung by Andriano as I’ve always found his vocals to contain a bit more anger that complements the edgy sound of their earlier work.
As a side note I also found the darker lyrics to not have the same appeal that they used to. It’s found it a bit hard to relate to the lines in Lost & Rendered, “ I hope you hear my cries;My will to live is wearing thin“, when they’re coming from a band who’ve hit the big time on MTV. While the same could be said of the self describing chorus of Love Love, Kiss Kiss, (blah blah blah), the bitter cynic in me actually enjoyed the message of this song “Do you curse the happy couple? Do you cringe at wedding bells? Do you drink up all the punch while you wish ‘em all to hell?”.
Final Verdict: Agony & Irony comes highly recommended to those that enjoyed the pop’ier material on Crimson. On the flip side, this commercial sound does give this album as certain disposable quality with a few too many skipable tracks for it to be classified as a truly great release. I’m not sure if this one will leave the same lasting impression as their earlier releases (Good Mourning and From Here to Infirmary), but in the ends it’s still a worthy addition to the Alkaline Trio catalog.
80 / 100 pennies
Highlight Tracks
In Vein
Ruin It
Hold Me
I Found Away
Nice stuff. I like this one a lot yes very pop and catchy but it is just soo pop that it is very hard not to like.
Exactly. People that complain about them being sounding too popular are just stuck in the past. If Alkaline Trio kept releasing the same material & didn’t change their sound things would have become stale & boring. While I wasn’t a massive fan of the album at first It’s quickly grown on me after a number of listens.
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