Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony EP
  1. Alkaline Trio
  2. Agony & Irony Digital EP
  3. Epic Records
  4. myspace.com/alkalinetrio

Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony EP

1. Help Me
2. In Vein
3. Into the Night

Having me review Alkaline Trio is sort of liking having an obese pre-teen male review ice cream, and not only because our respective first thoughts involve licking our lips and muttering syllables that almost certainly aren’t words. Alkaline Trio is my favorite band….


From cult classic Goddamnit to the album that all “true fans” reject on principle, Crimson, and everything in between, including From Here To Infirmary, which I regard as a perfect CD, I don’t think they’ve ever written a bad song. (Fine. Other than “Sundials.”) Lead vocalists Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano, for lack of more elegant phraseology, write very good songs. They know how to make vocal hooks insanely catchy. Musically, they play with both ends of the pop-punk spectrum and always come out on top. And Derek Grant is a truly magnificent drummer. If you doubt me, watch his practice videos; they were on YouTube last I checked. These guys really have it made, at least in my book.

That said, many viewed 2005’s Crimson as a bit of a letdown. The band started playing anthemic radio-pop on songs like “Time to Waste” and “Burn,” and this, together with goofy vampire throwdown “Your Neck,” was the last straw for some who missed the drunken-night ballads of old. I got into the Trio with Crimson, and before I dug into their back catalog, it was one of my Top 10 favorite CDs ever. So I harbor a soft spot for the record, but I also understand where the “purists” are coming from, even if I think they’re wrong to discard it. Based on the evidence of this digital EP, these purists will probably not want to pick up Agony & Irony, AK3’s forthcoming release (it drops July 1st). But if you thought Good Mourning was a good record too, then you can rest assured that Alkaline Trio will not let you down.

“Help Me” is the kind of song that made Goddamnit-loving elitists loathe Crimson. It’s a shimmering, catchy-as-anything pop anthem. It’s not pretentious, it’s not pissed-off, and it doesn’t waste time on elaborate design. “Help me, help me; somebody help me…Save me from myself…” probably isn’t the kind of line that will earn the band praise from its new-found detractors, and they don’t care. It’s a good song, and if you have to feel guilty to enjoy it, then you take yourself far too seriously.

“In Vein,” on the other hand, is totally different from everything the Trio has previously done. With a biting rhythm, Andriano leads listeners along his punk-rock tragedy, complete with the best hooks on the EP. It’s probably the most musically intricate track as well, complete with guitar effects Skiba would never have used on those beloved releases when he didn’t, you know, like interesting stuff like that. This one’s a winner.

If you’re one of those aforementioned Good Mourning fans, you’ll probably dig “Into the Night,” a track somewhat musically reminiscent of “This Could Be Love” and “Continental.” Those songs also had very dark, well-crafted lyrics, and “Into the Night” doesn’t break from that trend either: “So sing to me your darkest secrets, time to leave behind your regrets before we get lost in a blink of an eye.” The track isn’t as memorable as the two that come before it, but it’s a solid addition to the EP, showing a different side of the release to come.

Maybe none of that registered with you. You might still be considering the fact that no matter what Alkaline Trio released this year, it was almost certainly bound to wind up near the top of my Album of the Year list. And yes, you’re probably right. But the songs speak for themselves. You can stream all of them online. And you can buy them on iTunes for a meager $3. The band is good; you’ve heard it from the resident fanboy. Go see for yourself. Kick back and give into your ice-cream-style cravings. And let’s see if they don’t just wind up on your AOTY list too.

Rating: 9/10
Standout tracks: “In Vein”
RIYL: The Lawrence Arms, Bayside, Jimmy Eat World
Review by the Headless Horseman.