If you will recall, it was only a week ago that I reviewed Agony & Irony, the sixth studio album from everyone’s favorite pop-punk masters of the macabre, Alkaline Trio (which can be found here. While my review gave moderate praise to the record, it focused primarily on the fact that the album brought the band further away from the sound that had caused me to love the Trio in the first place. However, after going out and purchasing the deluxe edition of the album today, I have to say…Now I get it!!
Beyond the disc that comes along with the regular version of album, the deluxe edition of the album includes a 28 page booklet in a hardbound book and a second disc of acoustic tracks and a b-side. The track listing for the second disc is:
1. "Burned Is The House”
2. "Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Acoustic)"
3. "Live Young, Die Fast (Acoustic)"
4. "Into the Night (Acoustic)"
5. "Over and Out (Acoustic)"
6. "Lost and Rendered (Acoustic)"
The disc starts out with “Burned is the House,” another Dan opus that surely should have been included on the album. It stands out as one of the best overall tracks in the package. The label must have left it off simply to ensure that fans would purchase the deluxe edition of the album (not to mention the itunes version which includes the bonus track “In My Stomach” which is available nowhere else). However, it is the acoustic tracks (following the Trio standard, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire) that truly bring the album together.
For all my complaints about the overly polished output of Josh Abraham (who has also produced numerous bands I despise, including Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, and Linkin Park), the pure genius of the new album comes out in the stripped down, acoustic versions available on this second disc. No longer am I focusing on the change in their sound, but instead I am obsessing over the macabre ballads. Without all the bells and whistles (save the accompaniment of what sounds like a French horn on “Live Young, Die Fast”), you can hear these tracks in their purest form. With each track comes another glimpse into the writing process for Alkaline Trio, as well as the realization that these tracks are as much the Trio as anything they have ever written. I found myself singing along with each one, haunted by their beauty. Even the lyrics are even more intelligent than I first thought, which is one of the aspects of the record I praised in my initial review.
Now, after listening to the acoustic tracks, I have gone back and listened to the album versions, and I realize that I now have a new appreciation for those tracks. While it is a much more mature sound that previous Alkaline Trio records, and I do have to admit I still want the good old days of Goddamnit and Maybe I’ll Catch Fire, I am happy with it and would recommend it to longtime Trio fans and new listeners alike. Just a word of advice…for you diehards, start with the second disc! That way you may enjoy your listening experience at the earliest opportunity.
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