Alkaline Trio Good Mourning

[Vagrant; 2003]

Rating: 2.5/5

Styles: punk-pop, indie-punk, emo
Others: Pennywise, Link 80


I gave the last Alkaline Trio record, the similarly-awful-titled From Here to Infirmary a 5.2 This record gets 1 tenth of a point less because it's the same record but cost someone additional money to put out, and because I saw the video for "Stupid Kid" between reviewing that record and this one. If you are like me, essentially-typical indie dude ("Yeah, I like most anything. Avant-garde, electronica, even a li'l metal. What's that? Yeah. The broadest!"), you probably have a couple skeletons in the closet, and this band is one of 'em. Come on, Goddamnit is a solid record. Nevermind the lyrics. It's an example of how cheap production can sound good and bring a band's best points to the front. Good Mourning brings the Trio's worst points to the front, and at the mic, Matt Skiba now sounds like the biggest asshole ever. There's some awful subtle reverb effect on his voice on some songs, too. Good songwriting is still evident on about a third of the songs here, showing that Skiba still knows how to write a good song, and if he picked out the best parts of Good Mourning and From Here to Infirmary, he migh have a record on par with Maybe I'll Catch Fire, the pretty-ok follow-up to Goddamnit. He didn't, though, and that's why we indie dudes aren't going to buy your records anymore, Alkaline Trio. Take that!

1. This Could Be Love
2. We've Had Enough
3. 100 Stories
4. Continental
5. All on Black
6. Emma
7. Fatally Yours
8. Every Thug Needs a Lady
9. Blue Carolina
10. Donner Party
11. If We Never Go Inside
12. Blue in the Face