Acrobatic Tenement | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 18, 1996 | |||
Recorded | July 1996 | |||
Studio | Commercial Soundworks (Hollywood) | |||
Genre | Post-hardcore, emo, punk rock | |||
Length | 32:20 | |||
Label | Flipside | |||
Producer | Blaze James, Doug Green | |||
At the Drive-In chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Consequence of Sound | C+ [2] |
Drowned in Sound | 10/10 [3] |
Pitchfork | 6.5/10 [4] |
Acrobatic Tenement is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on August 18, 1996, on Flipside. [5] The album was reissued by Fearless Records in 2004, along with the band's subsequent albums In/Casino/Out and Relationship of Command , and was re-released again in 2013.
Only one track from Acrobatic Tenement appeared on the band's 2005 retrospective compilation album This Station Is Non-Operational , with "Initiation" appearing as a live BBC recording.
Acrobatic Tenement was initially released on August 18, 1996, exclusively on compact disc through the Los Angeles–based independent record label/fanzine Flipside , after some of its editors saw the band perform in Los Angeles. [6] The record was recorded at Commercial Soundworks in Hollywood for only $600 (equivalent to $1,203in 2024) after the band concluded a tour of the United States. [3] The album has been noted for its lack of guitar distortion, due to guitarist Jim Ward believing that his distortion-free recorded parts would not be used for the final master. [7]
Reflecting upon the aftermath of recording Acrobatic Tenement, frontman Cedric Bixler recalled in 2013: "Before [the album's release], the band had broken up. We did a U.S. tour and we decided to split up. I always needed Jim to be there, but he'd had a falling out with Omar [Rodríguez-Lopez]. We'd made a bunch of dumb moves at the time—kicked the drummer [Ryan Sawyer] who was on the record out, and then the other guitar player [Adam Amparan]—but then Tony [Hajjar] and Paul [Hinojos] came and played. Omar switched to guitar at the time, because he played bass on that album, so when we played live, it was a lot different." [8]
Much of the album, particularly the track "Ebroglio," was inspired by the life and suicide of Julio Venegas, a friend of the band. Venegas' death later inspired the concept album storyline of De-Loused in the Comatorium , the debut album by Bixler and Rodríguez' subsequent project the Mars Volta. [9]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Star Slight" | 1:18 |
2. | "Schaffino" | 2:49 |
3. | "Ebroglio" | 2:47 |
4. | "Initiation" | 3:26 |
5. | "Communication Drive-In" | 1:44 |
6. | "Skips on the Record" | 3:07 |
7. | "Paid Vacation Time" | 3:33 |
8. | "Ticklish" | 4:35 |
9. | "Blue Tag" | 3:17 |
10. | "Coating of Arms" | 2:46 |
11. | "Porfirio Diaz" | 2:58 |
Total length: | 32:20 |
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