|
 |
| |
| |
|
|
|
| Alkaline Trio are back, this time offering a "more mature" sound. If this is what maturity sounds like, then I'm not sure I want to grow up. |
| |
It's a phrase that strikes fear into fans - their band taking a "more grown up" approach to their new material.
I've yet to figure out how this process actually works, though. Does it involve penning it with a fountain pen rather than Crayola wax crayon? Recording in a fine country mansion rather than the scummy, beer-soaked recording studio? Drinking claret rather than Jack Daniel's? Whatever the system is, Alkaline Trio have supposedly done it. And if they're growing old gracefully, it's not something which has a positive effect on their music.
For a band who penned two minute power-pop classics such as Private Eye and Armageddon, this is a tame, bordering on turgid affair. It's as if Matt Skiba has been using episodes of Dawson's Creek and the OC as research and decided, in a cynical marketing ploy, to bridge the gap between his distinctive sound and the formulaic college rock these programs peddle.
A saving grace is that the lyrical content survives any cull, and as Skiba bemoans a broken relationship his trademark ironic bitter streak still shines through. But this isn't enough to pull this track anything above ordinary.
Alkaline Trio need to learn that you're only as young as you feel. The exuberance that characterised their early releases is stripped away, leaving merely a shadow of the memorable tunes they once produced. This is by no means a bad release, merely disappointing when it's evident that Alkaline Trio can produce such quality. |
| |
| James Haddrill - 6/10 |
|
 |
Name:
Tom
| Date:
24/11/05 | Reply
I felt the same way about this at first, but I actually think it's one of their sturdier offerings now. It's nothing new for them, but as far as pop-punk goes it's pretty impeccably crafted, and would shine out on From Here To Infirmiary, I reckon. And it's good to hear the two singers sharing a track.
|
|
|
| |
| Reviews | News | Talk | Features | Archive | Myspace | Contact | Voices |
| All original content is copyright of TinyVoices.co.uk 2003 to 2007 |
| |
|
|
|
 |
|
