At the Drive-In: This Station Is Non-Operational : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

For a brief moment at the beginning of this century, At the Drive-In were the hottest young band in America. Unfortunately, this odds-and-sods compilation won't do much for our fond memories of the Afro-coiffed Texas fivesome, who disbanded in 2001, just as they were blowing up. Where ATDI's later albums were art-punk cherry bombs packed with cascading shouts and tricky rhythms, most of these singles, rarities, B sides and live cuts sound unfocused -- long on arty twists and youthful bloodletting but short on explosiveness. Cedric Bixler's inscrutable emoting on low-fi fare such as "Napoleon Solo" gets annoying fast. The farewell single, "One Armed Scissor," is the best song ATDI ever constructed, and here it really stands out, hinting at a wealth of superb late-career material that This Station doesn't include.