Alkaline Trio
Damnesia
Heart and Skull
2011
If you are in a new band or thinking about starting one take a deep breath, a step back and have a good long think before committing anything to record. Don’t underestimate how important and game changing that first record could prove to be. In my opinion first albums fall into one of 2 categories, that is, assuming they’re not totally terrible pieces of fecund anti-matter:
1. They are scrappy yet amiable sets from a young band who have not quite clicked into gear yet. A few songs from these albums might sneak their way onto the set-lists further down the road but overall they’re nothing to write home about.
2. They are considered near perfect by hardcore sections of your fan-base. These guys were “with you from the beginning before you sold out and got boring” and thus have anointed themselves your true fans. You don’t remember selling half as many records as there are “true fans” but that’s just the way it is. Anything you record after that in the eyes of these fanatics will never be as good as this record so don’t even try.
Alkaline Trio have always had to bear the weight of their first record, 1997’s frankly suburb “Goddamnit,” to a certain degree. They’ve escaped a lot of the “yeah but its no ‘Goddamnit’” taunts because, frankly, they have released bag fulls of bloody good material since then. They are one of the most consistent bands in the punk scene, reliably releasing records that are well loved by all sections of the community. No matter which way you slice it though, “Goddamnit” was a special first release, the kind of which only comes around once in a blue moon. Matt Skiba’s anguished yet melodic cries and songs about heartbreak, depression and anger struck a chord with thousands upon thousands of still loyal devotees. They didn’t whine like the emo posers of today but instead infused their songs with so much visceral emotion it was hard not to picture a young Matt Skiba literally tearing at the seams. What was also different is that Skiba never painted himself as the sensitive artist writing maudlin poems about unrequited love in his bedroom but instead laced his heartbroken musings with anger, hate and thoughts of revenge. Skiba truly laid himself bear for all to see, admitting to all the ugly stuff we keep buried inside ourselves when such personal tragedies occur. It felt like a cathartic wave of honesty and passion that the band have yet to match to such a searing degree.
Let’s make no mistake, Alkaline Trio is rightly proud of this album and regard it as an important first step in the bands incredible 15 year career. That being said, the band seem to display the slightest hint of bemusement that their first record is held in such high regard. It is no secret that they feel they have grown tremendously as songwriters since then and may as a result view the constant mentions of “Goddamnit” with weary disdain. Compared to the polished pop punk of today’s Alk3 records “Goddamnit” was scrappy, thrashy and the song structures were all over the place. It is a record very much of its time and place but what the band might these days perceive as flaws with the album were all part of its charm and added that extra layer of authenticity. You could tell that the young men playing those songs meant every word, even if they didn’t posses all the technical knowhow yet.
Fast forward to 2011! Alkaline Trio are 15 years and 7 albums into their impressive career and they decide to release “Damnesia” a re-imagining of older songs which includes quite a few from the beloved record mentioned in the above paragraphs. I won’t do a track by track listing of the songs as I have done in the past as I’m sure most of you will be aware of the songs in their original form. The re-imagined songs are made poppier in a ways that round out their edge. The distorted punk guitars found on the original tracks have been replaced by acoustic or electro acoustic ones and the two singers, Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano, take a more measured and sedate approach to their often strained and frantic vocal stylings. Fans of the original songs will no doubt either find this a travesty or be filled with a mild curiosity but never once did I prefer the re-imagined versions to the originals. The places in the songs that allowed you to scream the lyrics back at your stereo are notable by their absence and this drains songs like “Clavicle” of much of their charm.
I was ready to give this album a poor review before I took a step back a thought about what the purpose of an album like this might be. At first I was totally bemused and ready to brandish the album a shameless cash in until I remembered that the Trio had been free of their label obligations for some time and were free at this point - as respected song-writers with a growing fan-base - to release whatever the hell they wanted. Quite simply this is an album for the band and nobody else. If people want to pick this up out of curiosity or want to have a complete Alkaline Trio collection then by all means go ahead, but you won’t find anything that’s going to blow your socks off. For me, this album serves a much more important function and has allowed the band a chance to get re-acquainted with their history. It is as if the happy and well adjusted men of today are speaking to the naive, unhappy young men they were 15 years ago and smiling at how well things have turned out. So if nothing else “Damnesia” provides a nice bookend to the first 15 years of Alkaline Trio’s history. How can anyone be malicious about something like that?
Score: 7/10
BadIdeaDan for MLM
Heart and Skull
2011
If you are in a new band or thinking about starting one take a deep breath, a step back and have a good long think before committing anything to record. Don’t underestimate how important and game changing that first record could prove to be. In my opinion first albums fall into one of 2 categories, that is, assuming they’re not totally terrible pieces of fecund anti-matter:
1. They are scrappy yet amiable sets from a young band who have not quite clicked into gear yet. A few songs from these albums might sneak their way onto the set-lists further down the road but overall they’re nothing to write home about.
2. They are considered near perfect by hardcore sections of your fan-base. These guys were “with you from the beginning before you sold out and got boring” and thus have anointed themselves your true fans. You don’t remember selling half as many records as there are “true fans” but that’s just the way it is. Anything you record after that in the eyes of these fanatics will never be as good as this record so don’t even try.
Alkaline Trio have always had to bear the weight of their first record, 1997’s frankly suburb “Goddamnit,” to a certain degree. They’ve escaped a lot of the “yeah but its no ‘Goddamnit’” taunts because, frankly, they have released bag fulls of bloody good material since then. They are one of the most consistent bands in the punk scene, reliably releasing records that are well loved by all sections of the community. No matter which way you slice it though, “Goddamnit” was a special first release, the kind of which only comes around once in a blue moon. Matt Skiba’s anguished yet melodic cries and songs about heartbreak, depression and anger struck a chord with thousands upon thousands of still loyal devotees. They didn’t whine like the emo posers of today but instead infused their songs with so much visceral emotion it was hard not to picture a young Matt Skiba literally tearing at the seams. What was also different is that Skiba never painted himself as the sensitive artist writing maudlin poems about unrequited love in his bedroom but instead laced his heartbroken musings with anger, hate and thoughts of revenge. Skiba truly laid himself bear for all to see, admitting to all the ugly stuff we keep buried inside ourselves when such personal tragedies occur. It felt like a cathartic wave of honesty and passion that the band have yet to match to such a searing degree.
Let’s make no mistake, Alkaline Trio is rightly proud of this album and regard it as an important first step in the bands incredible 15 year career. That being said, the band seem to display the slightest hint of bemusement that their first record is held in such high regard. It is no secret that they feel they have grown tremendously as songwriters since then and may as a result view the constant mentions of “Goddamnit” with weary disdain. Compared to the polished pop punk of today’s Alk3 records “Goddamnit” was scrappy, thrashy and the song structures were all over the place. It is a record very much of its time and place but what the band might these days perceive as flaws with the album were all part of its charm and added that extra layer of authenticity. You could tell that the young men playing those songs meant every word, even if they didn’t posses all the technical knowhow yet.
Fast forward to 2011! Alkaline Trio are 15 years and 7 albums into their impressive career and they decide to release “Damnesia” a re-imagining of older songs which includes quite a few from the beloved record mentioned in the above paragraphs. I won’t do a track by track listing of the songs as I have done in the past as I’m sure most of you will be aware of the songs in their original form. The re-imagined songs are made poppier in a ways that round out their edge. The distorted punk guitars found on the original tracks have been replaced by acoustic or electro acoustic ones and the two singers, Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano, take a more measured and sedate approach to their often strained and frantic vocal stylings. Fans of the original songs will no doubt either find this a travesty or be filled with a mild curiosity but never once did I prefer the re-imagined versions to the originals. The places in the songs that allowed you to scream the lyrics back at your stereo are notable by their absence and this drains songs like “Clavicle” of much of their charm.
I was ready to give this album a poor review before I took a step back a thought about what the purpose of an album like this might be. At first I was totally bemused and ready to brandish the album a shameless cash in until I remembered that the Trio had been free of their label obligations for some time and were free at this point - as respected song-writers with a growing fan-base - to release whatever the hell they wanted. Quite simply this is an album for the band and nobody else. If people want to pick this up out of curiosity or want to have a complete Alkaline Trio collection then by all means go ahead, but you won’t find anything that’s going to blow your socks off. For me, this album serves a much more important function and has allowed the band a chance to get re-acquainted with their history. It is as if the happy and well adjusted men of today are speaking to the naive, unhappy young men they were 15 years ago and smiling at how well things have turned out. So if nothing else “Damnesia” provides a nice bookend to the first 15 years of Alkaline Trio’s history. How can anyone be malicious about something like that?
Score: 7/10
BadIdeaDan for MLM