When most people think of punk music they think of the Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash usually and if not a band, usually the lifestyle that consists of mohawks, liberty spikes, leather jackets with patches and torn jeans.  And usually you would expect some sort of anti government song being screamed into the microphone and American flags being burned while the same three chords are played over and over again.  What you don’t think of is three guys wearing black suits and red ties singing dark love songs that sound like a day at the beach.  Maybe that’s what made Alkaline Trio so popular from the start, the fact that they took a type of music and made their own signature sound and style while still keeping the punk feel.  That being said Alkaline Trio is about to hit their 15th anniversary as a band this year and are celebrating it by releasing an album called Damnesia that will consist of songs from their first release Goddammit all the way to their most recent This Addiction and all completely unplugged. The band probably never expected to last this long so let’s back track to the beginning on how one of today’s great punk bands got started.

Matt Skiba formed Alkaline Trio with two other guys in 1996 in a suburb just outside of Chicago.   The group quickly released an EP called Sundials that got the attention of local punk label Asian Man Records.  During this process the band lost their bass player but acquired a new one named Dan Andriano who sang and played for the band Tuesday.  The addition of Andriano to the band would help create the sound Alkaline Trio was known for, two different singers who both take lyric writing responsibility for the band.  The breakout album on Asian Man Records Goddammit is considered a key record in the pop punk scene with both Andriano and Skiba taking turns singing on various tracks a theme that wasn’t really common in punk music at the time.  Goddammit was praised for its use of dark imagery about love and associations to death with very catchy punk music that was common in bands like Blink 182 at the time.  The song that is most famous from this record is “Clavicle” a love song about wanting to be with a loved one in bed all night. About a year later the band released Maybe I’ll Catch Fire an album that was praised for its Alkaline Trio sound but said to of fell short of the popular Goddammit. Many fans may disagree with the critics since two popular songs that are still played today were released through this album.  The slow punk ballad “Fuck You Aurora” is still as angry and clever as it was when first released and also in my opinion the greatest break up song ever written “Radio” finishes the album.  ”Radio” speaks about a recent breakup where Skiba wishes nothing but pain for the woman who broke his heart with lyrics such as “waking up next to nothing after dreaming of you and me, I’m waking up all alone, waking up so relieved while your taking your time with apologies, I’m planning my ways of revenge.” It was songs like this that put Alkaline Trio on the map and led to their signing by Indie/Punk label Vagrant Records for their next few releases.

Alkaline Trio now had a tight following and a growing interest in the music scene as bands like Blink 182 and New Found Glory were becoming very popular in the mainstream.  Alkaline Trio never surfaced up as the other pop punk bands but it was probably due to their dark and morbid style compared to their contemporaries.  In 2001 the band released arguably their best release to date with From Here To The Infirmary an album that would be the band’s signature punk sound and probably their most well written lyrics to date.  The opening track “Private Eye” is probably their most well known hit while other fan favorites include “Another Innocent Girl” and “Trucks And Trains” among others.  If you haven’t listened to the band before I would suggest starting with this album first considering it shows them reaching their maturity as a group together.

During and after this album the band would lose their original drummer Glenn Porter and replacement Mike Felumlee to only be replaced by their current and extremely talented drummer Derek Grant.  The band gaining much success now with their established line up would go in the studio again for Vagrant and record their fourth album Good Mourning an album that would keep the similar sound from the previous release but also add some more alternative rock elements to their songs.  This is where Alkaline Trio establishes their sound they have today, a mix of punk with alternative rock tendencies that helped them stay punk and make the mainstream scene.  The album is known for hits such as “We’ve Had Enough”, “100 Stories” and “All On Black” a collection of songs that keep the dark and morbid messages while sounding fine about it.  The band would now be established as a force to be reckoned with in not just punk music but all of music now that this type of genre had become mainstream on TV and radio.  It’s  no surprise they got airtime after their 5th release Crimson a collection of songs that for the first time ever was a full split mix of alternative rock and their punk roots.  Many fans and critics alike from the Goddammit days were unhappy with this release after hearing non punk instruments such as piano, keyboards and orchestra instruments added to some songs.  Any fan of music would have to say this rivals as probably their best and most accomplished work to date and is filled with almost every hit song they have.  The epic opener “Time To Waste”, to “Burn” and “Mercy Me”, all the way to “Settle For Satin” and the beautiful “Smoke” that is sung by Andriano to close the album out.  Although this album was epic in every sense of the word it would unfortunately lead to some bad decisions by the band in the near future.

The band received so much success from Crimson that they left Vagrant for Epic Records who unfortunately put out their mediocre album Agony And Irony a group of great to “meh” type songs.  Songs that didn’t belong on an Alkaline Trio record and didn’t really fit the mold in my personal opinion.  Classics still emerged on the record however with the very typical style Alkaline song “Calling All Skeletons”  and dual singing “In Vein” it’s hard to say this album is but but it’s just not what an Alkaline Trio fan wanted to hear. The band after this must have collected their thoughts and efforts and left Epic Records to join the legendary punk label Epitaph Records and probably the best decision they made since joining Vagrant in early 2001.  The band would enter the studio and release the album Alkaline Trio fans were waiting to hear again with This Addiction.  Although not a top 3 Alkaline Trio album, the band returned to their classic style punk and alternative days with awesome tracks “This Addiction”, “Dine, Dine My Darling”, “Dead On The Floor”, “Dorothy” and the once again beautiful closer “Fine”.  To say this isn’t a move back in the right direction would be a terrible thing to say because the album is literally classic style Alkaline Trio with dark morbid lyrics that make you feel happy your heart is crushed.  They have been one of my favorite bands for years and it’s hard to choose among so many great albums as my favorite but I suggest checking out From Here To The Infirmary to get yourself started on this band.  The only way I can describe this band is a pop punk band whose dark and heartbroken lyrics make you feel like its a day at the beach to be hurt.  Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself and check out any one of their albums and feel happy to be hurt.