Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (100 ratings)
- Date Released: May 13, 2003
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Emo, Punk
- Label: Vagrant Records
Dark Chicago punks take on murder, self-abuse and addiction.
-
We Say...
Their music is clearly a mix of pop-punk and emo, but Alkaline Trio are darker and far more scathing than their lovelorn peers. On their fifth album, 2003's Good Mourning, the Chicago trio returns to the bite and bluster of their early albums without losing the pristine production of 2001's From Here to Infirmary. And their lyrics are as bitter as ever, addressing murder, self-abuse and addiction with clever turns of phrase. Even when Alkaline Trio sing about girls, they do so with an evil glint in their eyes: "I shat the bed/ I lay there in it/ Thinking of you wide awake for days" ("This Could Be Love"). With Good Mourning, Alkaline Trio have found their ugly, hostile niche, and it hurts so good.
-
They Say...
Good Mourning is the handsome if dark-eyed offspring of the deliberately melodic From Here to Infirmary LP and Alkaline Trio's more raucous earlier work. Whether or not the band "sold out" (or whatever) when Infirmary arrived with the stamp of ambitious indie Vagrant, the set nevertheless seemed forced. For Good Mourning, Derek Grant replaces Mike Felumlee behind the kit, joining the grating-like-gouda voices and ringing guitars of Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano on the AT's second Vagrant outing. It's an album that kills with catchiness. Though "This Could Be Love" details the steps a jilted lover would take to off him, Skiba's melodic sensibility is hard not to hum along to. Similarly, the triumphant final key change of "Continental" makes its bitter farewell to a suicide victim easier to swallow. This dichotomy between deathly fascination and darn-right pop sensibility continues throughout Good Mourning. Despite making one take a few extra looks at the black and red lyric booklet, it also points to the Trio's newfound confidence to weave its tortured pathos untreated into punk-pop hair shirts for teenagers everywhere. The laughs continue with "Emma" and "Fatally Yours," which features the classic couplet "You crashed your car through the front door/I pulled you from the wreckage/You told me that you missed me/But you meant with the grill and hood." Unlike their doe-eyed emo-punk peers, the Alkaline Trio's take on true love is closer to love-hate. "Donner Party (All Night)" is a snow angel in a blizzard of punk-fueled melody, where the dried blood looks black on the nighttime snowpack. Finally, a glimmer of hope shines from a crack in the mortuary curtains. Good Mourning closes with the plaintive acoustic number "Blue in the Face." The song's last line is a grudging request, but one that admits the faults of both parties, and accepts them as a better reality than the death wishes, dour proclamations, and damning dreams of sunlight that dominate the majority of the record. But even as the coffin closes, anthemic melody reflects in the blood pooled on the floor.
-
You Say...
Write a ReviewI would like to say...
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
| 01. |  |
This Could Be Love |
3:47 |  |
| 02. | |
We've Had Enough |
2:51 | |
| 03. | |
One Hundred Stories |
3:40 | |
| 04. | |
Continental |
3:28 | |
| 05. | |
All On Black |
4:00 | |
| 06. | |
Emma |
2:42 | |
| 07. | |
Fatally Yours |
2:16 | |
| 08. | |
Every Thug Needs A Lady |
3:18 | |
| 09. | |
Blue Carolina |
3:28 | |
| 10. | |
Donner Party (all night) |
2:44 | |
| 11. | |
If We Never Go Inside |
3:46 | |
| 12. | |
Blue In The Face |
3:02 | |
Find a problem with a track? Please let us know.
12 Total Tracks, 39:02 Total Length
We will send an email to with the tracking ID for this issue.
Before reporting defective tracks, please note that you can re-download all of your tracks without losing credits. Please try to re-download your tracks in case a temporary issue caused your problem. If, after re-downloading your tracks, you are still experiencing issues, report them below.
Note: This form is for reporting defective tracks only.
For all other issues (billing, trouble downloading, etc),
contact Customer Support.
Playlists Alkaline Trio appears on these playlists created by eMusic members
Explore music recommended by Alkaline Trio fans
Credits
- Brian Gardner - Mastering // Joe McGrath - Producer // Joe McGrath - Recording // Robert Reed - Assistant Director // Jerry Finn - Producer // Jerry Finn - Mixing // Jay Blakesberg - Photography // Mike Fasano - Drum Technician // Alkaline Trio - Design // Alkaline Trio - Design // Alkaline Trio - Layout Design // Alkaline Trio - Layout Design // Derek Grant - Drums // Matt Skiba - Guitar // Matt Skiba - Vocals // Daniel Andriano - Bass // Daniel Andriano - Vocals // Chris Holmes - Assistant Engineer // Keith Moon - Layout Design // Jason Gossman - Assistant Engineer
Choose from over 4.5 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs as low as $0.25
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 30 downloads - that's less than $0.40 per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as $0.25 per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2008 All Media Guide, LLC