Remember how I was saying that Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Tiger Army, and Tool all get a pass for albums that don’t hit hard for me and I’ll buy them regardless because my love for the band is greater than one miss?

This is that Alkaline Trio album.

I think I’m the weird one here because I kept seeing my friends say this was their “return to form,” but I just didn’t see that.

I’m certainly glad it came out, though. They had never gone five years between major releases before (and then followed up that stretch with SIX years between this and Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs) and I always kinda worry that a band that has so many side projects have a ticking countdown where they have to get back together by X or just settle into some other project with other people.

And when I heard this the first time I had no idea that Dan Andriano had his own side project or that it was so fuckin’ good. But I definitely knew that Matt Skiba was prolific with other projects including one that sounded an awful lot like Alkaline Trio but without Dan’s magic.

It’s not like this album is BAD, either. It just struck me as nothing really to write home about. The hooks weren’t super strong, there wasn’t a lot of experimentation, and the songwriting felt more… standard.

Out of all Alkaline Trio’s albums - hell, even their EPs and collections like Damnesia or Remains - this is the one I listen to the least.

And, again, I’m pretty sure I’m the weird one here.

It doesn’t matter, though. These guys could release anything and I’d buy it. They’ve just been my favorite band for so long, seen me through so much, that there’s no way a couple bad releases would throw me off.

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