Alkaline Trio: From Here to Infirmary

Alkaline Trio: From Here to Infirmary

2001

Vagrant Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Private Eye  2. Mr. Chainsaw  3.Take Lots with Alcohol  4. Stupid Kid  5. Another Innocent Girl  6. Steamer Trunk  7. You're Dead  8. Armageddon  9. I'm Dying Tomorrow  10. Bloodied Up  11. Trucks and Trains  12. Crawl

I always forget how much I like this one. The band switches to Vagrant Records, adds new drummer Mike Felumlee (formerly of the great Chicago punk band Smoking Popes), polish up their sound and rack up a hit with "Stupid Kid."  And they do all this without significantly diluting their punk rock sound. It still sounds exactly like Alkaline Trio...it just sounds like SUPER-Alkaline Trio.



I went to see them in Detroit right around the release date of this record (in fact it might have been the day of its release) and the band played quite a few of the new songs. I remember being blown away by "Take Lots With Alcohol," and as soon as the show was over I went straight to their merch booth and bought the vinyl copy of this record that I still have to this day.  I can recall taking it home, eardrums blown from the show, and playing "I'm Dying Tomorrow" 500 times. And miraculously, it still hits me like the first time I heard it. A simple, hooky pop-punker where Dan Andriano makes plans for his last day on Earth, drinking and having fun with no regrets. It's celebratory and sad at the same time. He also pulls off another winner with "Crawl'" which I was familiar with at the time from some comp I cannot recall. When the piano comes in on the break? I'm telling you!



 "Private Eye" and especially "Trucks and Trains" both foreshadow the darker new sound they would adopt starting with their next album. I think that may be why I tend to overlook this one a bit, even though I love it whenever I put it on. It seems a little like it's neither here nor there. When I'm in the mood for rougher punk, I put on one of the three prior releases and when I'm in the mood for the slicker-gothic punk I put on one of their subsequent releases. However,  I could see people enjoying this for that exact reason, since it does seem to have the best of both worlds...

Howabout I shut up for a minute so we can listen to "I'm Dying Tomorrow..."