Alkaline Trio:Maybe I'll Catch Fire

Alkaline Trio:Maybe I'll Catch Fire

2000

Asian Man Records

Format I Own it on: Compact disc

Track Listing:  1. Keep 'Em Coming  2. Madam Me  3. You've Got So Far to Go  4. Fuck You Aurora  5. Sleepyhead  6. Maybe I'll Catch Fire  7. Tuck Me In  8. She Took Him to the Lake  9. 5-3-10-4  10. Radio


I can't even look at that cover without artificially lowering my voice an octave and cartoonishly crooning, "Shayyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."

I suspect a lot of people have that same reaction. Alkaline Trio pulls off their greatest song here, "Radio." When the droning bass and heartbroken guitar line finally explode and Matt Skiba lets loose with that full throat-ed, "I'VE GOT A BIG FAT FUCKING BONE TO PICK WITH YOU, MY DARLING!" That's a great moment! If any lyric deserves to be written in all-caps, this is it.

This was the first Alkaline Trio album I'd ever heard. I bought it blindly out of the Asian Man catalog around 2000, just cos I bought everything out of that catalog, but this one really shook the shit out of me. I know most people will say the first album they hear by a band they like is always their favorite one, but I really don't think I suffer from that particular affliction. I believe I can sit here and tell you with a clear head that "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" is their best album. 

To me, as soon as "Keep 'Em Coming" blasts through the speakers, it's an improvement in every way from the previous album. The performances seem more confident, the lyrics are even darker and funnier than before, the melodies seem better constructed, it all come together beautifully.
The record boasts two more pop-punk classics, with "Fuck You Aurora," whose cathartic dynamics make it a close relative to "Radio," and Dan Andriano's "You've Got So Far to Go," with its bouncing bassline and affecting vocal. I think he's really starting to channel Elvis Costello this time, which is a win for everybody. Unless you're not into Elvis Costello. In which case you just have no soul...

All the other tracks are good too! "Sleepyhead" revives Naked Raygun's power-drill-punk sound. The title track , with its heightened sense of drama, also works. I've heard people don't buy records anymore (I appreciate that they're keeping record stores open just for me!), but if for some reason you're feeling nostalgic for the year 2000  (those long ago days of Napster, when you were probably illegally downloading it then too)  pick up a copy of this at your local record store.



All right, It's time to artificially lower your voice an octave and cartoonishly croon, "Shayyyyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."