| Agony & Irony | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1, 2008 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:42 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Josh Abraham | |||
| Alkaline Trio chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Agony & Irony | ||||
| ||||
Agony & Irony is the sixth studio album and major label debut by American punk rock band Alkaline Trio, [2] released July 1, 2008, on Epic Records.
On October 12, 2006, the band announced they had signed with major label V2 Records. In addition, it was mentioned that the band was working on new songs, and was aiming to record a new album in early 2007. [4] However, in January 2007, V2 went through a restructuring process which left the fate of its acts unknown. [5] Drummer Derek Grant said the band had 18 songs, which they were in the process of demoing in Los Angeles, California. Though, they were expecting to record their next album in April 2007, [6] each member was focused elsewhere: Skiba with Heavens and touring with Chuck Ragan, Andriano as a studio musician, and Grant writing R&B songs while constructing a studio. [7] [8] On May 28, 2007, the group announced they had signed to another major label, Epic Records. [9] Three days later, "Fire Down Below" was posted on the band's Myspace profile. [10] They performed on that year's Warped Tour for two weeks; they debuted a new track, titled "In Vein". [11] [12] Following these dates, the band entered the studio to work on their next album. [13] Recording began in early 2008; the proceedings were documented on an online journal through their fan club Blood Pact. [14]
Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record." [3] Regarding the record's sound and influences, Skiba states that he was "listening to a lot of Pat Benatar, Def Leppard and a lot of the 80s MTV music that I grew up with. So that was a big influence in the writing process, bands like The Cars". Norwegian experimental band Ulver contributed strings, programming and vocals on "Lost & Rendered" and "In My Stomach." Douglas P. of English neofolk group Death in June contributed a spoken word introduction to "I Found Away". "Help Me" was inspired by the Joy Division film Control (2007). [15]
In an interview promoting the album, Matt Skiba cites that:
there’s a theme of duality on the record, it’s sort of a spin on ‘ebony and ivory’ which of course represents black and white. The songs on the new album sort of represent a struggle between good and evil, light and dark, and despair and hope. We felt Agony and Irony was appropriate, I mean we fancy ourselves as being pretty clever, and we felt a play on words was also fitting for the new record. It's also a lyric from 'Flagpole Sitta' by Harvey Danger, so we thought we earn double points for that. [3]
On April 4, "In Vein" was made available for streaming through the band's Myspace profile. It was mentioned that the band's untitled next album would be released in three months' time. [12] The following day, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. [16] On April 7, the album's title Agony & Irony and track listing was revealed. [17] [18] The following day, "Help Me" was posted on Myspace; it was released to radio stations on April 22. [19] [20] On the latter day, an Agony & Irony EP was released, featuring "Help Me", "In Vein" and "Into the Night". [21] In May and June, the band participated in the Zumiez Couch Tour alongside Kandi Coded, Our Last Night and Dr. Manhattan, which was followed by an East Coast tour for the remained of June 2008. [22] [23] [24] A music video for "Help Me" premiered through MTV on June 30, 2008. [25] According to Alternative Press , it contains "100% less on-the-road and concert footage and 100% more Matt Skiba dressed up as someone from Young Guns flying with a jetpack." [26] Agony & Irony was made available for streaming on June 27 on their Myspace; it released on July 1, 2008, through Epic Records. [27] [28] For those that pre-ordered the vinyl edition, they were given a free seven-inch record that featured "Help Me" and a cover of "Wake Up Exhausted" (2004) by Tegan and Sara. [29]
The album was promoted with a US tour until August 2008, with support from Bayside and American Steel. [30] [31] Following this, they appeared at the Pukkelpop and Edgefest festivals. [32] [33] In October and November, the band supported Rise Against on their headlining tour of the US. [34] Due to Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath becoming ill, Alkaline Trio performed two shows with another band on the tour, Thrice. [35] "Over and Out" was released radio on October 21, 2008; a week later, the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! performing "Calling All Skeletons". [36] [37] [38] In January and February 2009, the band went on a tour of Europe with the Audition and Broadway Calls. [39] During this stint, the band played a Myspace Transmission session, where they performed "Over and Out" and "Love Love Kiss Kiss". [40] In February and March, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival. [41] Also in March, the band launched a contest for fans to remix "I Found Away" that would be included on a digital release titled Remix EP. [42] [43] In April 2009, the band went on the Pick Up the Phone tour, alongside Anberlin and Single File, at college campuses in the US; it was intended to raise awareness of suicide and mental health problems. [44] Following this, the band went on a tour of the East Coast and Midwest with Saves the Day [45] and were supported by Death in the Park. [46] Further dates were added, extending the tour into mid-May. [47] Following this, the band supported the Offspring on their Shit Is Fucked Up Tour in May and June 2009, and then appeared at the West Coast Riot festival in Sweden. [48] [49] In June 2013, independent label Shop Radio Cast released the album as a two-LP set with a booklet and additional recordings. [50]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | (76%) [51] |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B+ [52] |
| Blender | [1] |
| IGN | 8.3/10 [53] |
| Melodic | [54] |
| Rolling Stone |  [55] |
By August 2008, the album sold 57,000 copies. [56] Rock Sound ranked it at number 11 on their list of the year's best albums. [57]
All Tracks by Alkaline Trio.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Calling All Skeletons" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Help Me" | 3:44 |
| 3. | "In Vein" | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Over and Out" | 3:14 |
| 5. | "I Found Away" | 4:01 |
| 6. | "Do You Wanna Know?" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Live Young, Die Fast" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Love Love, Kiss Kiss" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "Lost and Rendered" | 3:23 |
| 10. | "Ruin It" | 3:36 |
| 11. | "Into the Night" | 3:23 |
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba, Dan Andriano and Derek Grant.
From Here to Infirmary is the third album by American rock band Alkaline Trio. It was their first album for Vagrant and their only album with Mike Felumlee, who replaced their previous drummer, Glenn Porter. When Felumlee left the band shortly after the album's release, Atom Willard filled in on tour and appeared in the music video for "Private Eye", before Derek Grant became their new permanent drummer.
Good Mourning is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released May 13, 2003 on Vagrant Records.
Crimson is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alkaline Trio. Produced by Jerry Finn, it was released on May 24, 2005 by Vagrant.
Matthew Thomas Skiba is an American musician, singer and songwriter, known for his role as the founding lead vocalist and guitarist for Alkaline Trio and was the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the band Blink-182 from 2015 to 2022. Skiba's lyrical content commonly involves dark romantic themes.
Bayside is the second album by American rock band Bayside.
The Walking Wounded is the third studio album by American rock band Bayside.
Broadway Calls is an American punk rock band from Rainier, Oregon. The band has released four records and toured the United States and Canada extensively and often. More recently the band has completed tours in Europe. Broadway Calls have toured with such bands as Alkaline Trio, The Gaslight Anthem, Rancid, The Bouncing Souls, and Bad Religion.
Horizons is the second studio album by Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive. It was released on 6 October 2007 through Resist and Epitaph Records, and was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz. It was recorded in Westfield, Massachusetts at Zing Studios in May 2007. The record was a surprising commercial success for the band at the time, charting at #6 on the ARIA Album Charts, a notable achievement for an Australian metal band in 2007.
In Defense of The Genre is the third studio album by American rock band Say Anything. The album artwork was provided by Jeff Smith, an artist primarily known for his work on the Bone comic series.
"Help Me" is a song by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the first single from their 2008 album Agony & Irony. The song impacted radio on April 22, 2008. It became the highest-charting single of the band's career, reaching #14 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The B-side of the single is a cover version of Tegan and Sara's "Wake Up Exhausted", recorded with Jim Devito at Retrophonics Studio in St. Augustine, Florida in a separate session from Agony & Irony.
Farewell is an American pop punk band formed in 2004 in Greensboro, North Carolina. They were signed to Epitaph Records releasing two CDs. After fulfilling their contractual obligations with the release of their second CD, the relationship with Epitaph ended.
Shudder is the fourth studio album by American rock band Bayside, released on September 30, 2008. Prior to its release, singer Anthony Raneri described the album as having a more alternative sound than their previous record, The Walking Wounded. The title comes from a lyric in the track "I Can’t Go On".
Common Existence is the fifth full-length album from rock band Thursday.
The discography of Alkaline Trio, a Chicago-based punk rock band, consists of nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one split album, four EPs, one video album, sixteen singles, one demo, nine digital releases, and thirteen music videos. Alkaline Trio formed in 1996 with an initial lineup of Matt Skiba, Rob Doran (bass), and Glenn Porter (drums). This lineup released the band's demo tape and the 1997 single "Sundials" on Chicago record label Johann's Face Records, after which Doran left the band and was replaced by Dan Andriano. The group then signed to Asian Man Records and released their debut EP For Your Lungs Only and album Goddamnit in 1998. A second EP, I Lied My Face Off, followed in 1999 and resulted in their first music video, for the song "Goodbye Forever". In 2000 Asian Man released the band's second album, Maybe I'll Catch Fire, as well as the compilation album Alkaline Trio, collecting most of their previously released early material. Porter then left and was replaced by Mike Felumlee.
Mama, I'm Swollen is the sixth studio album by the American indie rock band Cursive, on Saddle Creek Records. It was released on March 1, 2009 digitally, March 10 on CD, and was released on LP on May 19, 2009. The entire album was played through as a preview at Subterranean in Chicago on June 27, 2008. On February 24, 2009 the band released "From the Hips" on their website.
Coaster is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on April 28, 2009 through Fat Wreck Chords.
Infomaniac is the second studio album by American indie rock band Nightmare of You.
This Addiction is the seventh studio album by Chicago-based rock band Alkaline Trio, released February 23, 2010 as the first release by their newly formed record label Heart & Skull, a joint venture with Epitaph Records. Described as a return to the band's punk rock roots, it was recorded at Atlas Studios in their hometown of Chicago with Matt Allison, the same location and producer used for much of their early material. The album draws lyrical inspiration from the band members' personal lives, addressing themes such as love, addiction, death, divorce, grief, suicide, politics, and war. It became the highest-charting album of the band's career, debuting on the Billboard 200 at #11 and also reaching #1 on the Rock, Independent, and Alternative Albums charts.
"This Addiction" is a song by the punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the first single from their 2010 album This Addiction. The single was released as a digital download through online retailers on January 12, 2010, and as a 7" single exclusively through Hot Topic stores on February 9, 2010.
