Search - Alkaline Trio :: Crimson

A terrific album from a band that has always had potential

Alex J. Avriette | Arlington, Virginia USA | 06/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am saddened to hear the reviews of "they sold out" or "their sound has finally become pop" and the similar cries of embittered fans. The simple fact of the matter is the band has improved their production quality and softened their music a little - although nowhere near enough to justify a "sellout" accusation.



In past albums, Goddamnit!, for example, there was a raw, young punk feeling to the band. Compare, if you will, to Taking Back the Covers or many of the bands on the Springman label. Bands grow up. Punk doesn't *inevitably* lead to pop, but when the angst that starts creativity leads to intelligent songwriting, harmonies and more complex chord work, the hard edge that sometimes brings us to punk gets lost.



But, listen to The Poison on Crimson, or Back to Hell, and you'll realize that it's the same band that recorded Goddamnit! and From Here to Infirmary.



People have said that the star of the album is really Mercy Me. I'm also a complete sucker for harmony, and Mercy Me has harmonies that almost evoke Brian Wilson. However, listeners will also find a real treat in the next track, Dethbed, which has the same harmonies with a more morbid, darker overtone to it, which is frankly more reminiscent of their earlier recordings (which listeners seem to be looking for).



The songwriting is so intelligent, the composition of the music itself is intelligent itself, and what Alkaline Trio has produced in Crimson is a damn good album.



Bitter "we knew them first" fans should realize that bands grow, and that sometimes their fans don't grow with them as quickly. The good news is for these fans is that there *are* bands out there right now cutting their teeth on punk, like Amazing Transparent Man, who will do more than enough to satisfy when "The Trio" goes "pop.""

Crimson

Mr. S. A. Eick | South Africa | 12/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Matt Skiba's voice gives Alkaline Trio's music an indefinable quality. I stopped listening to punk music a couple of years ago, but found a couple of files from 'From Here to Infirmary' on my PC about 2 years back. The first song on the album had me hooked, and a year later I got hold of Good Mourning, a brilliant, haunting pop punk album.



Crimson doesn't disappoint, carrying forward the Trio's weird lyrical sensibilities and poppy feel. The second listen had me humming along to one of the only bands I've heard in a while who seem distinguishable from the mass of generic sounding mall punk anthems out there.

"

Rocks Like A Champ

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 08/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Crimson" is a great rock record. The songwriting is varied enough to keep it from being a monolithic sound blast, yet it rocks like a champ. The opener "Time to Waste" opens almost classically before Matt Skiba's electric guitar blasts and lyrics that sound in harmony with Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, "I had time to kill; it's dead & buried; You've got guts to spill, but no one trustworthy." "The Poison" blares like beach music with a buzz, "How could a rooftop view in London look just the same as one in Brooklyn?" "Mercy Me" punches the vocals sounding almost like a punk Beach Boys, "Oh, mercy me, God bless catastrophe." "Deathbed" sears the speakers, "We've got the know-how & the elbow grease; We've got our victim all cut up down here on the floor." The set concludes with a strong track, "Smoke," that uses keyboards through its winding path, "Faith dear, enough to get you by until we're home." "Crimson" is an excellent disc. Its charm is evident to those who liked Good Mourning. Enjoy!"