About this product

Product Identifiers

Record LabelShock

UPC5021456156450

eBay Product ID (ePID)18050145543

Product Key Features

FormatCD

Release Year2008

GenreAlternative, Rock

Run Time42 Mins 52 Seconds

ArtistAlkaline Trio

Release TitleAgony & Irony [Deluxe Edition]

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

ReviewsSpin (p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey tread fretfully toward maturity and make it seem like walking into the light." Alternative Press (p.156) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "With the band revisiting the fundamental idea of being a power trio, songs are re-focused to accommodate live performance....Kicking off with the supremely infectious 'Calling All Skeletons' followed by the sunny, hook-filled single 'Help Me'..." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.48) - "[With] huge hooks, gloomy themes and the overriding sense of urgency and desperation that Alkaline Trio have always done so exquisitely..." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.62) - Ranked #10 in Kerrang's Best Albums Of The Year 2008 -- "[S]o long as Skiba never lightens up, Alkaline Trio will remain the masters of the dark, punk rock schadenfreude." Q (Magazine) (p.135) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Six albums in, Matt Skiba's bitter lyrics still have an impressive sting..."

Additional informationIssued three years after Alkaline Trio's well-received CRIMSON, 2008's AGONY & IRONY finds the Chicago-based ensemble continuing to work in its signature brooding punk-pop vein. Despite the skull on AGONY's cover, however, the album isn't as blatantly goth-oriented as CRIMSON, leaving room for vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba to display a wider range of emotions, as heard on the sensitive-yet-punchy single "Help Me" and the cheeky "Love Love, Kiss Kiss." Other highlights of the record include the catchy opener, "Calling All Skeletons," and the dynamic break-up tune, "Over and Out," songs that reinforce Alkaline Trio's status as one of the most respected acts in the overcrowded punk-pop field.