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www.churchonthursday.com
Alkaline Trio
Good Mourning
Vagrant Records
2003
I must admonish those of you who purchased the latest A.F.I. CD and sent it
catapulting up the
charts; your money could have been spent more wisely elsewhere. There you
were in the record store--in the "A" section, no less--and yet you
took no notice of Alkaline Trio's latest.
Good Mourning has all the gloomy countenance and self-abusing appeal of A.F.I., yet no one in Alkaline Trio adorns themselves like Edward Scissorhands. Plus, the band does not have a lame, ambiguously straight-edge video in heavy rotation on MTV--just loads of guitar and lyrics that Davey Havok couldn't compose in his greatest androgynous wet dream.
Most readers want the reviewer to refer to the CD's standout track. Okay, fine, just this once I will placate you. "We've Had Enough", the second cut (usually where the record company places the single), provides pure emotive punk bliss with its chorus of "Please turn that fucking radio off!" Heed these words, gentle readers (they asked you please after all). Turn your radio off and your television, too. Experience the rock' 'n' roll liberation of Alkaline Trio, and don't hesitate to consume a few of your favorite libations whilst doing so.
Now for those of you who don't give a good goddamn about A.F.I., here are more reasons to procure a copy of Good Morning: Maybe you're a fan of The Smiths. Alkaline Trio is like The Smiths on steroids (sans pompadours and sweaters). Though not as lyrically crafty as your beloved Morrissey, Alkaline Trio provides plenty of disturbed, dejected and dire subject matter guaranteed to get your square purse swingin', or to serve as the perfect soundtrack to smoking cloves in the cemetery (e.g. "I don't blame you for walking away/I'd do the same if I saw me"). Don't expect any jangly Johnny Marr riffs, though. This CD is straightforward mourn-the-loss-of-your-girlfriend/boyfriend/partner/goldfish, engirdle-yourself-in-melancholy, sob-in-your-vodka tonic rock 'n' roll, reminiscent of the now-defunct Smoking Popes. Buy it now!
--Felix Thursday