Alk3 return to us with their first album since 2008′s “Agony and Irony”, an album which, as previously mentioned on the site, divided a lot of fans with its pop rock heavily weighted on the side of pop. The band promised back in 09 that the new album would be a return to their punk roots, and this could be true judging from the opening title track, 2 minutes and 35 seconds of pure joy. In many ways, regarding traditional Alkaline Trio songwriting and style, the whole album goes back to 2001′s “From Here To Infirmary”, songs designed for mass appeal with catchy hooks and singalong choruses. “Dine, Dine my Darling”, sang by Dan Adriano, is a lovely track which demonstates the songwriting style perfected over the course of the bands history, and could well serve as a second single. “Dead On The Floor”, the longest song at 4 minutes 20 seconds, follows this tradition, and has a lazy guitar riff leading into the song, a bombastic chorus and one of the strongest tracks on the album. The same cant be said for “Draculina”, a song which just feels rushed, shitty and filler on an already short album. “Eating Me Alive” boasts a Cure-ish synth opening which is promising but then descents into mediocrity really quickly, again feeling like filler. “The American Scream” is better, more uptempo and lyrically fantastic as a commentary of young Americans being drafted for war. Classic trio through and through. Towards the end of the album, “Dorothy” again just feels like a rushed piece of music, and has nothing new to offer the listener. Closing track “Fine” is a very pretty song, with Dan’s voice soaring over Matt’s tingly guitar work, its a shame the chorus isnt as catchy as the verses, otherwise would have been a fantastic song.
The band had said that they had all been through a lot of personal stuff since the last album, dealing with death and divorce. This album, if serving as a reflection of that, is a mixed bag. Using the metaphor of drug addiction to describe love works really well for the opening track, and there are 4 or 5 really awesome songs on this album, unfortunately this is the only really great idea on the record, and the filler tracks arent really good enough to warrant a second listen. Make no mistake, “This Addiction”, “Lead Poisoning”, “Dine, Dine My Darling” and “Dead On The Floor” are all brilliantly single worthy, the first of which is that good it would serve well on a best of compilation should the band ever do one, however after spending 2 or 3 albums perfecting the art of catchy rock with punk aesthetics and high production quality, it seems like Alk3 are aware that they have taken a step back, and the album unfortunately is a dissapointment. Dont get me wrong, a bad Alkaline Trio song is usually always better than a good song by a lot of bands out there making music right now, however i think they have failed to reach the high standards they have set themselves in the past.
Go see them live when they tour this though, they have a back catalogue worthy to die for and are a band who bring it live, big time.