Agony & Irony - Dark Publications

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Album Description
Alkaline Trio's 2008 album Agony & Irony. Alkaline Trio have been playing their unique brand of hardcore Punk music to legions of fans for over ten years. With Matt Skiba on guitar and vocals, Derek Grant on drums and Dan Adriano on bass, the band emerged from the working class suburbs of Chicago,Illinois in 1997. The Trio released their first two albums with indie label Asian Man Records and then joined Vagrant Records in 2001. Over the past decade, Alkaline Trio's sounds and lyrics have evolved from raw, loud, and uninhibited as to refined, poetic and profound as heard on their last release, Crimson. The album was produced by Josh Abraham (Staind, Korn) and features the lead single 'Help Me'.

Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Agony and Irony July 2, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful

First of all, to start this ramble in the form of a review, I would like to say that, to me, three stars means good record, but not great. And that's how I feel about "Agony and Irony", the newest LP from the Alkaline Trio, and their "major label" debut.
The reason I put "major label" in quotation marks there is that Alkaline Trio put their last three records out on Vagrant Records, and to think that that isn't at least a mini-major is naive and silly. To add to that, Alkaline Trio has become progressively more polished and radio friendly with each record, right up to their last record, the excellent "Crimson", which sounded good enough to get substantial radio airplay, which I'm still surprised it didn't.
So to look at this as some big break from the Alkaline trio sound would be silly, and to think of this as a sell out move would be wrong headed. This record makes complete sense in the continued progression in the groups sound.
So why three stars for the record? To be honest with you, this sounds like Alkaline Trio on autopilot for the majority of the album. The albums lead off single "Help Me" starts off very close to "Time to Waste" on the last record, and goes to a fairly standard start and stop guitar riff before blowing up to a fairly decent chorus, that never really catches hold. "Calling All Skeletons" equates hand claps with pop music, and though as it progresses to the chorus is improves and finds it's melody, it's not a strong enough one to stay in your head.
In fact, that's the problem with this record. The songs all feel half done, as if the band were a step away from writing another killer set of goth pop punk, but just didn't quite finish completing the material. Not a lot stands out as you're listening to it. The lyrics lack the same wit and style that they have had in the past, and musically it all feels just half thought out.
There are a couple of killer tracks here, most notably "Love Love Kiss Kiss", one of the few tracks that bassist Dan Andriano contributed to the record.
But, in all honesty, there isn't anything bad on this record. Nothing will make you cringe or angry. There's just nothing great here either, I think. You will probably not be upset at the money you spent, but you probably won't listen to it much either.

2 out of 5 stars

A New Alkaline Trio July 1, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is not the Alkaline Trio of Goddammit era, or even of Good Mourning. It is closest to Crimson in that it has the sheen of a Green Day or (yikes!) a Good Charlotte album, but that special ability to turn a phrase and revel in melodic darkness is twinkling out. It's not a matter of them evolving into something different and not liking that direction, its a matter of them fading into something less then the sum of their parts. Skiba and co. owe it to their loyal supporters to make better songs then "Love Love Kiss Kiss" or "Ruin It" which, like many tracks on the album, are pop-punk by the numbers. I saw in an interview the members saying this was their best album yet, and a week later I saw them making a special appearance on The Hills, so that in itself may give you a hint at what to expect.

Key Tracks: Help Me, In Vein

Low Points: Love Love Kiss Kiss, Ruin It, (Rest of album.)

2 out of 5 stars

Too soft, too smooth July 1, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful

Alkaline Trio are at their best when angry and twisted ("Private Eye", "Radio"). Their previous album, Crimson, managed to keep the dark tone intact even with slicker production values ("Mercy Me"). However, this latest album has taken the studio sound of Crimson and smoothed it out even further. The result is something that barely sounds like the same band. Matt Skiba's dark poetry is still intact, but there's no ferocity, no snarling bitterness. These are not the same guys who played Halloween in Chicago, in costume as undead priests. They've mellowed and their music is simply not the same.

4 out of 5 stars

not bad as everyone is hyping it up to be... July 15, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

okay, first things first. alkaline trio fans, let's face the facts right now. they are probably not going to make another raw, dark, gritty, punk rock album like they did in their early days (ala "goddamnit", "maybe i'll catch fire", "from here to infirmary"). the sooner you hardcore trio fans see that the sooner you'll realize that this album isn't as bad as you want it to be. okay, yes they lost some of their edge and some songwriting skills but this is a strong album (especially for a major label debut). not to mention the bands been going strong for over a decade and you can't possibly expect them to keep making the same style of music album after album. that's boring...so let them evolve in their own way. if they want to make more polished, radio-friendly doom pop....let them be. wouldn't you rather hear alkaline trio on the radio than all that other crap.

another question that comes to mind, did they sell out? well that's up to debate. yes, they acquired nu-metal producer josh abraham to run the boards but that's just the trio trying to mix things up a little i think. i do wonder though why they played for the god-awful, self-absorbed reality show "the hills" on mtv. that does make you think of their intentions. but you know what, i've always thought of the trio as a loyle group of guys who always do things for themselves first and make the music they want to. so deep down, i don't think they sold out. they made these bold moves to shake things up a bit and try different things that could perhaps enhance their career as a band.

as for the record itself, the songs do have more of a pop element to them like everyone is saying. they all seem extremely poppy and less gritty/raw like their earlier work. as for their more recent releases "good mourning" and "crimson", this album tops those. this album isn't anymore poppy than those albums and i would say this album is closest to the sound they were going for on "good mourning" than anything else. out of these three albums "agony and irony" is the strongest.

right when you push play you have the extra catchy "calling all skeletons" which is bound to become a classic. next is their popular radio single "help me" and is one of the bands best songs to date. while i've never been a big fan of dan andriano songs, i do however love "do you wanna know" and "love, love, kiss, kiss". those are bound to become classics as well and don't forget about my favorite on the album, "live young, die fast". this became a classic and a favorite the first time i heard it. it's classic trio but it has a slow groove to it. it kind of reminds me of a old doo-wop song from the 60's (kind of like what green day did with foxboro hot tubs). while i do agree their are some clunkers on here ("ruin it", "lost and rendered"), most of the other songs are decent to get repeated plays.

all in all, the alkaline trio has delivered a great major label debut with "agony and irony". no, it's not anywhere as great as their earlier classics but it's a great improvement from "crimson". although i hate to see my bands go mainstream, i hope they release 3+ singles off this album and become a well-known name to rock music. they've been working hard for over 10 years and they deserve any success that comes their way.

thanks for reading

1 out of 5 stars

Something's missing... July 1, 2008
4 out of 9 found this review helpful

...that's right, every semblance of that which made this band one of the most incredible indie bands of our time. It's a shame they haven't put out a relevant album since "From Here to Infirmary".

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