Search - Alkaline Trio, One Man Army :: BYO Split Series, Vol. 5

More fun than a barrel of dead monkeys.

Matthew J. Weaver | Colorado | 09/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the usual Matt Skiba/Dan Andriano goth Cure meets punk rock style, this is an excellent release. Featuring new songs from both bands as well as an excellent Damned cover by Alkaline Trio of 'Wait for the Blackout".



Alkaline Trio is an excellent band with a very unique sound that I find highly addictive (I only bought this album because I have everything else they have released) mainly because no one else sounds like Alkaline Trio. A quick surmise of their sound would have to be a punked up version of the Cure with dark and disturbing lyrics that are mostly tongue-in-cheek...



I was not as familiar with One Man Army (aside from a few compilations) and am very impressed with the content they serve up for this release. Highlights include: "Hemophiliac", "The TV Song", "Lets Call It an Evening", all of them basically. One Man Army can best be described as a cockney replicant band that is actually quite original in todays punk and indie circles. The guitar work is more muted and more emphasis is placed on the bass and the drums. Think of them as a modern version of early Clash, The Damned, Stiff Little Fingers... only from California.



All in all, a highly recommended release for new and old fans of Alkaline Trio and what is called One Man Army's best work to date."

An Impressive Return

Matt | Buffalo NY | 04/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alkaline Trio are back with six new songs, and they're all great. Fine Without You is a great slower song, definitely sounding like Skiba has been listening to the Cure lately, probably the album Head on the Door. All of the songs are great, standout, and memorable to be completely honest. There wasn't a song on here that I didn't remember after listening to this CD twice. Track six, Wait For the Blackout is a nice suprise too. The Damned are a great band, and the song Alk3 chose to cover is probably one of their best off what is probably their best album. I own everything Alk3 has released and I can safely say that these are some of my favorite songs.The OMA songs are good too. I hadn't heard them before I got this CD and I was impressed. They definitely bring a good Clash feel (my OTHER favorite band besides Alk3), with plenty of loud guitars and an influence of reggae. The vocals definitely sound extremely similar to the Dickies, which might turn some people off from the, but if you like an unusual sounding voice being backed up by some pretty original old school punk with reggae overtones, you'll like this too."

Awesome split

Matt | 04/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This split is amazing. This is some of Alkaline Trio's best work to date. I really think this material is better than most of the stuff on Good Mourning, and I really like that album. The songs sound a lot different than anything on Good Mourning, and all of their previous recordings, and the lyrics are dark an interesting as usual. Sadie, Dead and Broken, and If You Had a Bad Time are the highlights of this album..so good. One Man Army isn't a bad band either. I really enjoyed their songs too. They have a cool old school punk sound that I really dug. I have to say they made a new fan, and I'll definatly be picking up a full lenght of theirs."