This Addiction
Encyclopedia
This Addiction is the seventh studio album by the punk 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.
, Alkaline Trio left Epic Records
due to personnel changes within the record label. Singer and guitarist Matt Skiba
explained in a May 2009 interview with Billboard
that "Everyone who signed us to Epic, all of the people we trusted there, were let go. And that's not to say the people running it now aren't cool, we just don't know them and we don't like to work generally with people we don't know. We had a bunch of material and wanted to do a record sooner [rather] than later, so we called them and asked them if we could leave and they said, 'Yeah, that’s cool. Rather than signing a recording contract with another label, the band decided to release their next album themselves, a move Skiba explained as partially inspired by the independent releases of Nine Inch Nails
' Ghosts I–IV
and The Slip
and Radiohead
's In Rainbows
:
In November 2009 Alkaline Trio announced the formation of their own independent record label
, created as a joint venture
with Epitaph Records
in a manner similar to ANTI-
and Hellcat Records
. Epitaph had previously released Patent Pending
, the 2006 album by Skiba's side project Heavens. Named Heart & Skull after Alkaline Trio's logo, the new label would be innaugurated by the release of their new album. Skiba remarked that "We made the decision to form Heart & Skull to put out our own records after having been through every kind of label deal in the industry, big indies, small indies, majors. We knew it was time to adapt to the shifting tides of the music industry and we could not be more thrilled about doing that in conjunction with the team at Epitaph." Singer and bassist Dan Andriano
added: "For our band at this time it really makes sense to release our own records, but we wanted to make sure we could partner up with good people who we would want to share in something very special to us. When Brett [Gurewitz
] called and said he wanted to be involved, that was it. Epitaph is a label I've admired and supported for more than half of my life."
"), "Dead on the Floor", and "This Addiction
". Skiba explained that "we used our soundcheck
basically as pre-production" and stated that the band would choose the ten best songs and "record them lickety-split in July". Reflecting a desire to return to their punk rock
roots, the band chose to record at Atlas Studios in their hometown of Chicago
, where they had recorded much of their early material including their first two albums, 1998's Goddamnit
and 2000's Maybe I'll Catch Fire
. They also chose to record with Matt Allison, producer
of both of those albums as well as 2001's From Here to Infirmary
and much of their other early material. "Matt has a really great ear and some really great ideas, so he engineered the record and co-produced it", said Skiba. "The official production credit is ours though. We went in with a very strict idea of what we wanted to do."
During the Summer and Fall of 2009 both Skiba and Andriano worked on solo projects: Skiba recorded a solo album entitled Demos for the band's early label Asian Man Records
, which was originally scheduled for a February 2010 release but was pushed back until after the release of the new Alkaline Trio album. Meanwhile, Andriano performed and recorded as a solo project titled The Emergency Room. That October Alkaline Trio played the Riot Fest, an annual Chicago punk rock festival, alongside older Chicago bands including Screeching Weasel
, Pegboy
, and Naked Raygun
. Skiba noted that reconnecting with these and other friends in the Chicago music scene allowed their punk rock influences to seep into the new Alkaline Trio album even more.
On December 1, 2009 the album's title was announced as This Addiction, which is also the title of its opening track. Of the eleven tracks selected for the album, eight were written by Skiba and three by Andriano ("Dine, Dine My Darling", "Off the Map", and "Fine"). Skiba explained that both members came up with an equal number of songs during the writing process, but that "it was pretty easy to pick out the ones we wanted to use. There are three of us that have equal say in the creative process, so you gotta leave your ego at the door. Dan and I are best friends and we're not competitive with each other at all. We're partners and we try [to] do everything for the better[ment] of the band and for the better[ment] of the record."
and digital download
, a limited Deluxe Edition with six bonus tracks and a full-length concert DVD
recorded at the House of Blues
in Las Vegas, Nevada
in 2008, and a gatefold LP
. The album's first single
, "This Addiction
", was made available for listening as streaming audio
through a dedicated website on January 5, 2010, using a marketing technique in which listeners were required to post an advertisement about the album to Facebook
or Twitter
in order to access the song. It became available as a download through digital retailers on January 12, and was released as a 7" single exclusively at Hot Topic
stores on February 9. The song's music video
premiered February 8. Alkaline Trio toured with Cursive
in support of the album. On February 18 This Addiction was made available for listening as streaming audio through the band's MySpace
profile.
Prior to recording This Addiction, Skiba expressed a desire to return to the band's punk rock
roots: "That's how we started as a band, and over the years I think we evolved into kind of more of a rock band with punk roots." Elaborating on the album's sound in a November 2009 interview, he called it "a rock record but our punk rock upbringing definitely shines through, more so than our last few records. The vibe is similar to our humble beginnings. It's a step forward but I also think it has glimmers of our past in it." He also described the album as more straightforward, with a "less is more" approach that included reducing the number of guitar overdubs
, with many of the songs including only one guitar track: "We wanted a record that we could easily play live. For the most part, it's pretty bare bones while still sounding full and big." The album does, however, include some synthesizer
as well as a trumpet
solo in the style of Neutral Milk Hotel
.
Musically, Skiba has cited the influence of fellow Chicago punk bands Screeching Weasel
, Pegboy
, and Naked Raygun
on This Addiction' s sound. He has also cited the influence of the Ramones
and Social Distortion
, saying of the latter that "They've never put out a bad album, in my opinion. I remember being like 'Wow, this sounds like old Social D' [during recording]. It's got that melodic yet melancholic kind of mean guitar lead. It sort of reminds me of Mommy's Little Monster
and some of the older stuff and like how psyched I was to hear that."
Lyrically, the themes of This Addiction were heavily influenced by the band members' personal lives. Skiba remarked that "The whole record is really personal, all three of us have been through quite a bit since our last album and it is all expressed through this, all the songs are about the relationships we've been in and so the record has a constant theme." He cited this as another way in which the album recalls the band's earlier material:
Discussing other specific songs on the album, Skiba mentioned that the title track uses heroin and methadone
addiction as a metaphor for love, stating that "It's a human condition that I think we all, in one way or another, fall victim to. It's not to say that people can't be happy or find bliss in a relationship. It's just amazing to me how unhappy most people are and they can't shake it and can't fix it, much like an addiction." He also discussed the politically themed "The American Scream", a song inspired by the suicide
of a United States Army
soldier after his return from the War in Afghanistan
: "For a long time we were afraid to write overtly political songs but I read this article about a US soldier that came back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan and blew his head off on his mother's grave and I wrote a song about that." He has described the lyrical style of This Addiction as "thinking-man's punk": "We wanted to do something that's fun but also interesting and lyrically, something that will be fun for people to read along to and hopefully understand."
at #11 and reaching #1 on the Rock, Independent, and Alternative Albums charts. It was also #8 in digital album sales and #51 on the UK Albums Chart
.
Critics' reviews of This Addiction have generally complimented the album's production and Dan Andriano's contributions, while criticizing Matt Skiba's vocals and lyrical themes. Both Drew Beringer of AbsolutePunk and Scott Heisel of Alternative Press noted that the production effectively blends hints of the band's early sound with the more polished rock style of their later years, with Beringer remarking that it "captures the vibe of the album nicely" and Heisel commenting that it "still sounds like a slick, polished Alkaline Trio album, mainly because the band have evolved to a point where they want their sound to come off as slick and polished." Both praised Andriano's writing and singing, with Beringer noting that he "only leads on three tracks, but sounds fantastic in each, especially in album closer, 'Fine'." Heisel stated that "His three cuts (including the spectacular "Off the Map") are sufficiently poppy without being dumbed down." Skiba's vocals received more criticism: Beringer stated that "some of [his] weakest material shows up here" and that he "sounds awesome on the title track and 'The American Scream', [but] falls flat on blunders like 'Draculina' and 'Piss and Vinegar. Heisel criticised Skiba for "[falling] back too frequently on his well-worn lyrical themes of drugs (the title track) and death ('The American Scream'). It's moments like these where it feels like he's trying too hard to keep up appearances with his band's more fairweather fans." Corey Apar of Allmusic felt similarly, saying that "it would have been nice to hear [Andriano] more, especially since Skiba's lyrics leave much to be desired." Michael French of Punknews.org
shared this sentiment, saying that Skiba's lyrics "aren't necessarily bad, but they've been significantly dumbed down; Matt once turned cliché into clever and cunning commentary--now they just lack personality and the clichés are just, well...cliché."
Opinions were divided on the band's use of trumpet in "Lead Poisoning" and synthesizer in "Draculina" and "Eating Me Alive". Rob Hope of Rock Lifestyle said of these elements that "At first you may jump back and scratch your head, but after a few listens you realize it's pulled off well and is quite likeable." Beringer remarked that the horns "fill the background nicely", while Heisel felt that "The goofy, NOFX
-esque trumpet solo [...] turns a decent song into a throwaway track". Similarly, Beringer felt that the use of synthesizers in "Eating Me Alive" "puts a little glam into the band's gothic style", while Heisel called them "awful", stating that that they "completely ruin" the song, and that "Draculina" should have been left off of the album and relegated to a B-side
: "seriously, the sooner this band stop playing around with keyboards, the better off we'll be". Both had praise for specific songs on the album, however: Beringer called "The American Scream" "the ideal Trio song; it's totally dynamic and enthralling, and should be a quick fan favorite." Heisel said that Andriano's "Dine, Dine My Darling" "is exactly what makes the Trio a compelling punk band–it's loaded with a huge hook, honest lyrics and a wink to their forefathers". He singled out "Dead on the Floor" as the album's finest track, calling it "a not-too-distant musical cousin from Goddamnit
s 'San Francisco', with some of Skiba's most heartbroken lyrics." Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone
remarked on the band's return to their "bleak-Blink-182
roots" after the "power-ballad overreach" of Agony & Irony
.
Final opinions on the album were mixed. Hope called it "an easy listen with the same soothing vocals and clean cut sing-a-long choruses we've grown to love. Overall a great offering but not overly addictive." Beringer praised the band's growth in musicianship in the years since From Here to Infirmary
, but also commented that This Addiction "could be polarizing to fans, splitting them into three groups: fans who love the album because it goes back to the band's roots, fans who dislike this album because they may think it's a cheap imitation of older days, and the fans who might think this is a step backwards from the previous album." Heisel concluded that "while This Addiction might not be perfect, it's a more than respectable entry into the band's already sizeable canon, proving that though they may be in that rarified group of punk-rock lifers, Alkaline Trio aren't done evolving yet." Apar stated that although the album was purported to be a return to the early sound of Goddamnit, he found it more comparable to From Here to Infirmary "since the end result is still the same polished album full of vaguely gothic and bloody references where characters like Draculina live -- no real bitterness, sore-throat defiance, or endearing heartache to be found." Though complimenting "This Addiction" and "Off the Map" as strong songs, he felt that the album failed to live up to its expectations as a return to roots: "Alkaline Trio just can't seem to recapture the spirit of their early days, when purpose and emotion fueled every note. Instead, one is left with totally competent -- and at times, yes, catchy -- songs that ring just a bit too hollow compared to the urgent leave-it-all-on-the-floor guts of those earliest releases [...] despite the polished and punchy singalong choruses, This Addiction is really just more of the same recycled melodies from the Trio rather than any sort of rebirth." Andrew Kelham of Rock Sound
agreed that the album did not succeed in recapturing the band's early sound, but was a strong effort nonetheless: "Alkaline Trio aren't naïve punk rockers from the Chicago suburbs anymore, as a result this album fails to recapture that innocence but succeeds in creating another strong body of work that the group can be proud of." Mikael Wood of Spin
remarked that the "cozier confines" of an independent label "appear to have put the band at ease" and that their "hooky, blood-soaked bad-love allegories [...] satisfy like heartburn-inducing comfort food." French concluded that "This Addiction isn't so much a 'return to form,' but rather a summary--a sonic scrapbook of sorts that carefully documents their entire career, from sour home Chicago to the dressing rooms of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
."
Additional musicians
Production
Artwork
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, released February 23, 2010 as the first release by their newly formed record label Heart & Skull, a joint venture with Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
. Described as a return to the band's punk rock roots, it was recorded at Atlas Studios in their hometown of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #11 and also reaching #1 on the Rock, Independent, and Alternative Albums charts.
Formation of Heart & Skull
Following the touring cycle for their 2008 album Agony & IronyAgony & Irony
Agony & Irony is the sixth studio album by Alkaline Trio, released on July 1, 2008 on Epic Records. Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record."...
, Alkaline Trio left Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
due to personnel changes within the record label. Singer and guitarist Matt Skiba
Matt Skiba
Matthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
explained in a May 2009 interview with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
that "Everyone who signed us to Epic, all of the people we trusted there, were let go. And that's not to say the people running it now aren't cool, we just don't know them and we don't like to work generally with people we don't know. We had a bunch of material and wanted to do a record sooner [rather] than later, so we called them and asked them if we could leave and they said, 'Yeah, that’s cool. Rather than signing a recording contract with another label, the band decided to release their next album themselves, a move Skiba explained as partially inspired by the independent releases of Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
' Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV is the sixth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on March 2, 2008. The team behind the project included Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, studio-collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, and instrumental contributions from Alessandro Cortini,...
and The Slip
The Slip (album)
The Slip is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on July 22, 2008. It was the fourth consecutive Nine Inch Nails release to be produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder...
and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's In Rainbows
In Rainbows
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
:
With the way that everything is being done, with people like Trent ReznorTrent ReznorMichael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
and Radiohead, it was very inspiring to us that when you're doing things on your own you can do whatever you want. Not that we're going to give records away but this time we're starting a label, we want to build it up first and have the freedom to release exclusive things whenever we want. That's something we've always been able to do until we were on Epic, so it's nice that we're able to do that again.
In November 2009 Alkaline Trio announced the formation of their own independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, created as a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
in a manner similar to ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...
and Hellcat Records
Hellcat Records
Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an off-shoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz carp Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid, the latter of whom is generally responsible for...
. Epitaph had previously released Patent Pending
Patent Pending (album)
Patent Pending is the debut album by Heavens, a side project formed by Matt Skiba, vocalist and guitarist for Alkaline Trio, and Josiah Steinbrick....
, the 2006 album by Skiba's side project Heavens. Named Heart & Skull after Alkaline Trio's logo, the new label would be innaugurated by the release of their new album. Skiba remarked that "We made the decision to form Heart & Skull to put out our own records after having been through every kind of label deal in the industry, big indies, small indies, majors. We knew it was time to adapt to the shifting tides of the music industry and we could not be more thrilled about doing that in conjunction with the team at Epitaph." Singer and bassist Dan Andriano
Dan Andriano
Daniel Michael Andriano is the bassist and co-vocalist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio.-Education and early bands:...
added: "For our band at this time it really makes sense to release our own records, but we wanted to make sure we could partner up with good people who we would want to share in something very special to us. When Brett [Gurewitz
Brett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records...
] called and said he wanted to be involved, that was it. Epitaph is a label I've admired and supported for more than half of my life."
Background and recording
During their Spring 2009 tour, Alkaline Trio tested new songs including "Dine, Dine My Darling" (a title derived from the Misfits' "Die, Die My DarlingDie, Die My Darling
-Band:* Glenn Danzig - vocals* Doyle - guitar* Jerry Only - bass guitar* Arthur Googy - drums on "Die, Die My Darling"* Robo - drums on "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?" and "We Bite"-Metallica version:...
"), "Dead on the Floor", and "This Addiction
This Addiction (song)
"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,...
". Skiba explained that "we used our soundcheck
Soundcheck
A soundcheck is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance, when the performer and the sound crew run through a small portion of the upcoming show on the venue's sound system to make sure that the sound in the venue's "Front Of House" and stage monitor sound...
basically as pre-production" and stated that the band would choose the ten best songs and "record them lickety-split in July". Reflecting a desire to return to their punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
roots, the band chose to record at Atlas Studios in their hometown of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where they had recorded much of their early material including their first two albums, 1998's Goddamnit
Goddamnit
Goddamnit is the debut album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released October 13, 1998 through Asian Man Records.- Reception :...
and 2000's Maybe I'll Catch Fire
Maybe I'll Catch Fire
Maybe I'll Catch Fire is the second album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released March 14, 2000 through Asian Man Records...
. They also chose to record with Matt Allison, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
of both of those albums as well as 2001's From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary is the third album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released April 3, 2001 through Vagrant Records. It was their first album for Vagrant and their only album with drummer Mike Felumlee, who replaced previous drummer Glenn Porter. It was also their first...
and much of their other early material. "Matt has a really great ear and some really great ideas, so he engineered the record and co-produced it", said Skiba. "The official production credit is ours though. We went in with a very strict idea of what we wanted to do."
During the Summer and Fall of 2009 both Skiba and Andriano worked on solo projects: Skiba recorded a solo album entitled Demos for the band's early label Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
, which was originally scheduled for a February 2010 release but was pushed back until after the release of the new Alkaline Trio album. Meanwhile, Andriano performed and recorded as a solo project titled The Emergency Room. That October Alkaline Trio played the Riot Fest, an annual Chicago punk rock festival, alongside older Chicago bands including Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
, Pegboy
Pegboy
Pegboy is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois with a relatively large cult following. They were founded in 1990 by John Haggerty , along with his brother Joe Haggerty , Larry Damore , and Steve Saylors...
, and Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
. Skiba noted that reconnecting with these and other friends in the Chicago music scene allowed their punk rock influences to seep into the new Alkaline Trio album even more.
On December 1, 2009 the album's title was announced as This Addiction, which is also the title of its opening track. Of the eleven tracks selected for the album, eight were written by Skiba and three by Andriano ("Dine, Dine My Darling", "Off the Map", and "Fine"). Skiba explained that both members came up with an equal number of songs during the writing process, but that "it was pretty easy to pick out the ones we wanted to use. There are three of us that have equal say in the creative process, so you gotta leave your ego at the door. Dan and I are best friends and we're not competitive with each other at all. We're partners and we try [to] do everything for the better[ment] of the band and for the better[ment] of the record."
Promotion and release
This Addiction was released February 22, 2010 in the United Kingdom through Heart & Skull and Hassle Records, and the following day in North America through Heart & Skull and Epitaph Records. It was released in several versions, including a standard eleven-track compact discCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, a limited Deluxe Edition with six bonus tracks and a full-length concert DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
recorded at the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
in 2008, and a gatefold LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
. The album's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "This Addiction
This Addiction (song)
"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,...
", was made available for listening as streaming audio
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
through a dedicated website on January 5, 2010, using a marketing technique in which listeners were required to post an advertisement about the album to Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
or Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
in order to access the song. It became available as a download through digital retailers on January 12, and was released as a 7" single exclusively at Hot Topic
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000...
stores on February 9. The song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
premiered February 8. Alkaline Trio toured with Cursive
Cursive (band)
Cursive is an American indie rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, on Saddle Creek Records.-History:The band was formed in 1995 by Tim Kasher, Matt Maginn, Steve Pedersen , and drummer Clint Schnase. In 1997, they released Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes. After a couple years of touring, the band...
in support of the album. On February 18 This Addiction was made available for listening as streaming audio through the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
profile.
Style
| Dare I say it's a punk rock record. We've made a progression, but we've also gone back to our roots. There's definitely some old-sounding Alkaline Trio vibe to this record. A lot of the songs were written really quick. We added a few bells and whistles here and there, but it's pretty stripped-down, straight-up rock 'n' roll. |
| — Matt Skiba Matt Skiba Matthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:... describing the musical style of This Addiction. |
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
roots: "That's how we started as a band, and over the years I think we evolved into kind of more of a rock band with punk roots." Elaborating on the album's sound in a November 2009 interview, he called it "a rock record but our punk rock upbringing definitely shines through, more so than our last few records. The vibe is similar to our humble beginnings. It's a step forward but I also think it has glimmers of our past in it." He also described the album as more straightforward, with a "less is more" approach that included reducing the number of guitar overdubs
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
, with many of the songs including only one guitar track: "We wanted a record that we could easily play live. For the most part, it's pretty bare bones while still sounding full and big." The album does, however, include some synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
as well as a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
solo in the style of Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
.
Musically, Skiba has cited the influence of fellow Chicago punk bands Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
, Pegboy
Pegboy
Pegboy is an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois with a relatively large cult following. They were founded in 1990 by John Haggerty , along with his brother Joe Haggerty , Larry Damore , and Steve Saylors...
, and Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....
on This Addiction
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and Social Distortion
Social Distortion
Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...
, saying of the latter that "They've never put out a bad album, in my opinion. I remember being like 'Wow, this sounds like old Social D' [during recording]. It's got that melodic yet melancholic kind of mean guitar lead. It sort of reminds me of Mommy's Little Monster
Mommy's Little Monster
Mommy's Little Monster is the first album by American punk rock band Social Distortion, released in 1983 .The album was critically acclaimed but was, however, not commercially successful...
and some of the older stuff and like how psyched I was to hear that."
Themes
| The anger is back. Not that we're angry people, but there are a bunch of different themes. All of us have been through some pretty life-changing experiences since [2008's Agony & Irony Agony & Irony Agony & Irony is the sixth studio album by Alkaline Trio, released on July 1, 2008 on Epic Records. Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record."... ]. Friends dying; people getting divorced; things that really are rather jolting but can also be very inspiring. I think we've used those experiences as inspiration. I certainly have. |
| — Skiba on the album's themes and inspirations. |
Another thing that makes it resemble our earlier records, especially our first record, is that it's really personal. A couple of us have gone through some pretty serious life changes. We had a good friend of ours pass away since the last record. There's a song on the record, "Dorothy", that was really influenced by the film Blue Velvet but it's a metaphor for someone and something else. Everything on the record is stuff that definitely hits close to home for us and we tried to communicate that in the songs.
Discussing other specific songs on the album, Skiba mentioned that the title track uses heroin and methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
addiction as a metaphor for love, stating that "It's a human condition that I think we all, in one way or another, fall victim to. It's not to say that people can't be happy or find bliss in a relationship. It's just amazing to me how unhappy most people are and they can't shake it and can't fix it, much like an addiction." He also discussed the politically themed "The American Scream", a song inspired by the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldier after his return from the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
: "For a long time we were afraid to write overtly political songs but I read this article about a US soldier that came back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan and blew his head off on his mother's grave and I wrote a song about that." He has described the lyrical style of This Addiction as "thinking-man's punk": "We wanted to do something that's fun but also interesting and lyrically, something that will be fun for people to read along to and hopefully understand."
Sales and reception
This Addiction became the highest-charting album of Alkaline Trio's career, debuting on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #11 and reaching #1 on the Rock, Independent, and Alternative Albums charts. It was also #8 in digital album sales and #51 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
Critics' reviews of This Addiction have generally complimented the album's production and Dan Andriano's contributions, while criticizing Matt Skiba's vocals and lyrical themes. Both Drew Beringer of AbsolutePunk and Scott Heisel of Alternative Press noted that the production effectively blends hints of the band's early sound with the more polished rock style of their later years, with Beringer remarking that it "captures the vibe of the album nicely" and Heisel commenting that it "still sounds like a slick, polished Alkaline Trio album, mainly because the band have evolved to a point where they want their sound to come off as slick and polished." Both praised Andriano's writing and singing, with Beringer noting that he "only leads on three tracks, but sounds fantastic in each, especially in album closer, 'Fine'." Heisel stated that "His three cuts (including the spectacular "Off the Map") are sufficiently poppy without being dumbed down." Skiba's vocals received more criticism: Beringer stated that "some of [his] weakest material shows up here" and that he "sounds awesome on the title track and 'The American Scream', [but] falls flat on blunders like 'Draculina' and 'Piss and Vinegar. Heisel criticised Skiba for "[falling] back too frequently on his well-worn lyrical themes of drugs (the title track) and death ('The American Scream'). It's moments like these where it feels like he's trying too hard to keep up appearances with his band's more fairweather fans." Corey Apar of Allmusic felt similarly, saying that "it would have been nice to hear [Andriano] more, especially since Skiba's lyrics leave much to be desired." Michael French of Punknews.org
Punknews.org
Punknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul which launched in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal...
shared this sentiment, saying that Skiba's lyrics "aren't necessarily bad, but they've been significantly dumbed down; Matt once turned cliché into clever and cunning commentary--now they just lack personality and the clichés are just, well...cliché."
Opinions were divided on the band's use of trumpet in "Lead Poisoning" and synthesizer in "Draculina" and "Eating Me Alive". Rob Hope of Rock Lifestyle said of these elements that "At first you may jump back and scratch your head, but after a few listens you realize it's pulled off well and is quite likeable." Beringer remarked that the horns "fill the background nicely", while Heisel felt that "The goofy, NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
-esque trumpet solo [...] turns a decent song into a throwaway track". Similarly, Beringer felt that the use of synthesizers in "Eating Me Alive" "puts a little glam into the band's gothic style", while Heisel called them "awful", stating that that they "completely ruin" the song, and that "Draculina" should have been left off of the album and relegated to a B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
: "seriously, the sooner this band stop playing around with keyboards, the better off we'll be". Both had praise for specific songs on the album, however: Beringer called "The American Scream" "the ideal Trio song; it's totally dynamic and enthralling, and should be a quick fan favorite." Heisel said that Andriano's "Dine, Dine My Darling" "is exactly what makes the Trio a compelling punk band–it's loaded with a huge hook, honest lyrics and a wink to their forefathers". He singled out "Dead on the Floor" as the album's finest track, calling it "a not-too-distant musical cousin from Goddamnit
Goddamnit
Goddamnit is the debut album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released October 13, 1998 through Asian Man Records.- Reception :...
s 'San Francisco', with some of Skiba's most heartbroken lyrics." Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
remarked on the band's return to their "bleak-Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
roots" after the "power-ballad overreach" of Agony & Irony
Agony & Irony
Agony & Irony is the sixth studio album by Alkaline Trio, released on July 1, 2008 on Epic Records. Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record."...
.
Final opinions on the album were mixed. Hope called it "an easy listen with the same soothing vocals and clean cut sing-a-long choruses we've grown to love. Overall a great offering but not overly addictive." Beringer praised the band's growth in musicianship in the years since From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary
From Here to Infirmary is the third album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released April 3, 2001 through Vagrant Records. It was their first album for Vagrant and their only album with drummer Mike Felumlee, who replaced previous drummer Glenn Porter. It was also their first...
, but also commented that This Addiction "could be polarizing to fans, splitting them into three groups: fans who love the album because it goes back to the band's roots, fans who dislike this album because they may think it's a cheap imitation of older days, and the fans who might think this is a step backwards from the previous album." Heisel concluded that "while This Addiction might not be perfect, it's a more than respectable entry into the band's already sizeable canon, proving that though they may be in that rarified group of punk-rock lifers, Alkaline Trio aren't done evolving yet." Apar stated that although the album was purported to be a return to the early sound of Goddamnit, he found it more comparable to From Here to Infirmary "since the end result is still the same polished album full of vaguely gothic and bloody references where characters like Draculina live -- no real bitterness, sore-throat defiance, or endearing heartache to be found." Though complimenting "This Addiction" and "Off the Map" as strong songs, he felt that the album failed to live up to its expectations as a return to roots: "Alkaline Trio just can't seem to recapture the spirit of their early days, when purpose and emotion fueled every note. Instead, one is left with totally competent -- and at times, yes, catchy -- songs that ring just a bit too hollow compared to the urgent leave-it-all-on-the-floor guts of those earliest releases [...] despite the polished and punchy singalong choruses, This Addiction is really just more of the same recycled melodies from the Trio rather than any sort of rebirth." Andrew Kelham of Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
agreed that the album did not succeed in recapturing the band's early sound, but was a strong effort nonetheless: "Alkaline Trio aren't naïve punk rockers from the Chicago suburbs anymore, as a result this album fails to recapture that innocence but succeeds in creating another strong body of work that the group can be proud of." Mikael Wood of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
remarked that the "cozier confines" of an independent label "appear to have put the band at ease" and that their "hooky, blood-soaked bad-love allegories [...] satisfy like heartburn-inducing comfort food." French concluded that "This Addiction isn't so much a 'return to form,' but rather a summary--a sonic scrapbook of sorts that carefully documents their entire career, from sour home Chicago to the dressing rooms of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
."
Track listing
Bonus tracks
Personnel
Band- Matt SkibaMatt SkibaMatthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Dan AndrianoDan AndrianoDaniel Michael Andriano is the bassist and co-vocalist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio.-Education and early bands:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Derek GrantDerek GrantDerek Grant is the drummer for punk band Alkaline Trio, where he replaced Mike Felumlee. He was previously a member of The Suicide Machines, Telegraph, Gyga, Thoughts of Ionesco, Remainder, Walls of Jericho, The Exceptions and Broken Spoke, a side band with Royce Nunley and Jay Navarro...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- Jason Flaks – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Ruth Rosenburg – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Production
- Matt Allison – recording engineer, co-producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mix engineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"... - Ted Jensen – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Cameron Webb – recording engineer of acoustic bonus tracks
Artwork
- Dan Field – cover photography
- John YatesJohn Yates (artist)John Yates is an English graphic designer, and from 1990 to 1999 was the owner of Allied Recordings . Yates is most well known for the numerous album covers he has done for bands such as Alkaline Trio, Melvins, Antischism, The Promise Ring, Dead Kennedys, Jawbreaker, Crass, and NoMeansNo, among...
– design and layout - Derek Grant – design of "7" logo (refined by Mark Penxa)
- Matthew Reeves and Tyler Curtis – band photography
Chart history
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
51 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
11 |
| US Alternative Albums | 1 |
| US Digital Albums | 8 |
| US Independent Albums | 1 |
| US Rock Albums | 1 |