Alkaline Trio: Crimson : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

On its fine 2003 album, "Good Mourning," Alkaline Trio mixed up classic punk and classic noir, revving the tempos and indulging in lyrics such as "Step one: Slit my throat/Step two: Play in my blood." Its sixth LP is nearly as morbid, but on Crimson, Alkaline Trio again manage to make bloodletting sound like hot fun on a Saturday night. Crimson finds these Chicago boys delivering action-packed guitar grooves and hooky, harmonized choruses, wistfully intoning, "I used to long for a casket to call my own" ("Mercy Me"). Darker tracks such as "Prevent This Tragedy" fall victim to adenoidal whining, but the even more maudlin barnburners, like "Fall Victim," prove that some Smiths fans know how to rock a party. If only they could bottle this stuff and sell it on the Warped Tour.