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Ah nostalgia. Came second hand but in band new condition very happy as it is a great album and is linked to a lot of memories I have of growing up
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The Alkaline Trio. Not a band that I have to say I'm particularly familiar with. But I assure you, give this CD a good listen, and it will leave you begging for more. A lot more... Signed to emo label Vagrant, home of The Get Up Kids and No Motiv to name but two, the Alkaline Trio should be a lot more well known than they are. But they won't be punk's best kept secret for much longer if they continue to reproduce long-players of this quality. It's all power-chord riffs, interwoven with some imaginitive basslines and solid percussion. And when Daniel Andriano sings, you know he's been pissed off, and you know he means it. Think The Ataris and The Get Up Kids mixed with Blink and New Found Glory. Possibly the perfect emo/punk hybrid around. Before listening to this, I'd only ever heard one Alkaline Trio track, the most excellent 'Crawl.' But I can safely say that this album is full of classics. Fans of the band have criticised the Trio for going a bit poppier and cleaner with this release, and having not heard their previous albums I cannot comment. But they must be pretty special. Opener 'Private Eye' is pretty full-on and instant, whilst 'Mr Chainsaw' is catchy, yet seems very familiar on first listen. Not that it has all been heard before, far from it, it's just so instant. 'Take Lots Of Alcohol,' is another standout, with a great chugging intro riff, and some crashing drums. 'Stupid Kid' is amazing. Simple, yet oh-so effective, this is the Alkaline Trio at their very best. 'Another Innocent Girl' slows the pace down slightly and isn't the best track on the album, but at the same time isn't really too bad. 'Steamer Trunk' is also slightly weak, but is still a song that many bands would kill for. 'You're Dead' and more significantly 'Armageddon' see the band return to top form, the latter really picking up the pace, with the drumming arguably as fast as anything on the new Blink 182 record. 'I'm Dying Tomorrow' and 'Bloodied Up' are dark and twisted for pop-punk, but work really well. But it's the final track, 'Crawl,' which is, for me, one of the songs of the year so far. Typically emo, there is not one bad thing about this track. It is just utterly superb. Somebody has obviously hurt Mr Andriano, but if he continues to come up with songs as good as this, then I hope someone hurts him more often.Read full review
Matt Skiba sees the beauty in bloodshed and Dan Andriano sees the compassion in a glass of scotch. It takes little to understand why these two are the perfect duo to write some of the cleverest and gruesome lyrics in punk. After all, what else would you expect from the guys who joined the Church of Satan for kicks? Since 1998 they, and the abundance of drummers they've gone through, have released album after album of only the finest quality of hatred and alcoholic discontentment - and it's no different on 2003's Good Mourning. In terms of comparison to their previous outing (From Here To Infirmary), Alkaline Trio take another step forward from what they established and add more tweaks and bits of polish in order to properly display their talent. FHTI saw them dipping into their pop-punk side while Good Mourning finds the band returning to the gritty, unadulterated anger that fueled their previous albums, and would unfortunately fade upon their next. To say that Alkaline Trio aren't formulaic is perhaps giving them too much credit. It's always been the drug metaphors thrown in with a few songs about death and hate - but my God have they done it well. Skiba and Andriano couldn't make better writing partners, always supplying a wealth of profoundly personal songs and still finding a way to make them catchier than most pop tracks. The production value is once again another appreciated step up from their previous efforts as well as the consistency in the energy (which has never been insufficient to begin with). There's a certain intensity that has been added to the group's personality for this record that shines superbly when the bass lines twang and flow ("This Could Be Love", "Blue Carolina") and when Skiba thrashes the strings ("Donner Party", "Continental") and of course when Derek Grant provides a pounding onslaught on the drums. This raw emotion isn't only present in the music - though it borrows greatly from its energy to really get the point across - it also emanates immensely from the songwriting. Both Andriano and Skiba's lyricism reaches top form on the bitter numbers like "100 Stories" and the Trio classic "Blue In The Face". The contrast they create with their very similar, but still blatantly separate lyrical styles is such a unique treat. Andriano relies heavily on his self-conscious and brooding tone while still containing that raw, bitter aftertaste to portray the punch to the gut sadness that he so effortlessly creates. While Skiba, on the other hand, embraces that bitter resentment with lines like, "Fighting back the tears and every urge to Van Gogh both our ears", utilizing his talent for clever writing to mask his agony. While their proceeding albums would begin to disappoint certain die-hard Trio fans, it is a common consensus that Good Mourning was the album that really showed them at their prime. Everything was put into place perfectly - the energy, the emotion, and the slight necessary polish. The formulas may begin to expire for some newcomers, but it still holds that passion and aggressiveness that Alkaline Trio's career-defining debut brought. With a promise for destruction and a lust for hate, Good Mourning dots the i's and crosses the t's to seal Alkaline Trio's place as one of the best punk acts of the past decade.Read full review
As Alkaline Trio thought I better get this album. It has the famous songs Stupid kid,Private Eye,Armageddon plus lesser known song Your Dead. This might not be my favourite of their album as I love Agony and Igony. However it is still worth getting if your a Alkaline trio fan.
Being a newcomer to Alkaline Trio I started with the magnificient Crimson Then after there early E.ps this rates as one of the Trio`s finest moments ,full of classics like the excellent Private eye ,to the fantastic Armageddon this c.d has no weak tracks so if you like trashy dark + desparate music look no further
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