Alkaline Trio Agony & Irony CD

Alkaline Trio: Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar); Daniel Andriano (vocals, bass guitar); Derek Grant (drums).
Personnel: Oliver Goldstein (keyboards).
Audio Mixer: Ryan Williams.
Recording information: Big Sound Studios, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Crystal Canyon, Oslo, Norway; Pulse Lake Recording Studio, Silverlake, CA.
Photographer: Myriam Santos-Kayda.
Reader: Douglas P.
Issued three years after Alkaline Trio's well-received CRIMSON, 2008's AGONY & IRONY finds the Chicago-based ensemble continuing to work in its signature brooding punk-pop vein. Despite the skull on AGONY's cover, however, the album isn't as blatantly goth-oriented as CRIMSON, leaving room for vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba to display a wider range of emotions, as heard on the sensitive-yet-punchy single "Help Me" and the cheeky "Love Love, Kiss Kiss." Other highlights of the record include the catchy opener, "Calling All Skeletons," and the dynamic break-up tune, "Over and Out," songs that reinforce Alkaline Trio's status as one of the most respected acts in the overcrowded punk-pop field.
Major-label debuts from punk bands usually all follow the same route, and end up sounding polished and produced. But with Alkaline Trio six full-lengths into their career, it could be assumed that they would be immune to any sort of big sound alteration on Agony & Irony, their first offering for Epic. Besides, Alkaline Trio already polished things up a few albums ago -- the raw, drunken rants of their past didn't make it very far past Asian Man Records. So the fact that Agony & Irony is overall a moderately paced affair featuring songs more pop/rock than pop-punk isn't such a surprise; it's simply a logical progression from Crimson. It might be slightly disappointing that some of their raw edge didn't return -- and the lyrics are effective, if not quite up to the cleverness they've shown in the past -- but at the same time, the continued polish isn't necessarily a bad thing; there are some pretty great songs here. Opener "Calling All Skeletons" is a perfect pop song -- complete with handclaps and hip shakes -- tailor-made for soundtracking the reckless house party scene of a prime-time teen drama. "I Found Away" skips along to a shuffling drumbeat courtesy of Derek Grant underneath modern rock guitars, while "Help Me" throws everything it has to Matt Skiba's expressive vocals. The latter song seems to set the standard, since although Dan Andriano chimes in on almost every melody, he noticeably only takes lead on a handful -- as on the lonely vintage pop of "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" -- which is a far cry from earlier albums where the split was almost even. Agony & Irony continues with the blood reds, black nights, and images of death that have become part of the band's trademark, but the guys also inject a few songs with some undercurrents of hope through the haze, which is, admittedly, a nice touch. And there seems to be an equal amount of contentedness as misery in this set, which does suit the aging band. But even so, it's a little hard not to wish for more of that edgy bitterness to creep back into the songs, roughing things up a bit and adding some excitement to the mix. The album is still enjoyable and damn catchy in spots -- but knowing as much as we do about this talented trio, it seems like it could have been so much better. ~ Corey AparSpin (p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey tread fretfully toward maturity and make it seem like walking into the light."
Alternative Press (p.156) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "With the band revisiting the fundamental idea of being a power trio, songs are re-focused to accommodate live performance....Kicking off with the supremely infectious 'Calling All Skeletons' followed by the sunny, hook-filled single 'Help Me'..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.48) - "[With] huge hooks, gloomy themes and the overriding sense of urgency and desperation that Alkaline Trio have always done so exquisitely..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.62) - Ranked #10 in Kerrang's Best Albums Of The Year 2008 -- "[S]o long as Skiba never lightens up, Alkaline Trio will remain the masters of the dark, punk rock schadenfreude."
Q (Magazine) (p.135) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Six albums in, Matt Skiba's bitter lyrics still have an impressive sting..."