What To Expect: A natural progression from what Alkaline Trio gave us on Crimson - perfectly catchy pop songs that, when taken at face value, are pretty good, but have nothing on the raw edge of some of their earlier works. Had Agony & Irony been made by another band, it would have been pretty impressive. Knowing the capabilities of Alkaline Trio, though, it's sort of rough to not get nostalgic for their old sound at points on the album.
High Points: Opening tracks "Calling All Skeletons" and "Help Me" are undeniably infectious, with "Calling All Skeletons" backing up crunchy guitars with handclaps and pounding drums, while "Help Me" features some surprisingly hopeful (considering the source) keys alongside a memorable chorus. "Do You Wanna Know" lacks a little bit in the verses, but the chorus has a melody that more than makes up for it.
Low Points: "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" is repetitive and, as a result, gets a bit old relatively quick. The main fault is the previously mentioned polishing up of Alkaline Trio's music that has been taking place over the past two or three albums. While the result is a smooth, usually fun pop-rock, it feels like the band has lost part of what made them so cool in the first place in the process.
Should You Buy This: Don't go insane spending every dime you've got to your name on this, but if you've got the money to spare, might as well. There are some tracks that are definitely worth checking out.
Sounds Like: I'd like to believe that anyone reading this already knows what Alkaline Trio sounds like, but just in case, go here.
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Tina Yi Oct 07 2008 01:23:44
