If you were mapping out ALKALINE TRIO’s discography, there would be a proportional relationship between the running time of a full-length and the farther out the band has stretched its sound from its punk rock base. After Crimson, ALKALINE TRIO started moving back down the mountain. Both Agony & Irony, and This Addiction are tidy, polished, mostly dark pop-punk affairs, and they largely track to the sequencing blueprint established on the band’s classic Maybe I’ll Catch Fire.

No less catchy or memorable than the band’s best efforts to crack through the mainstream, This Addiction has the meticulous, even-handed feel of a politician trying to connect with all of his or her bases. Opener “This Addiction” is as tight as a bulletproof vest, with a lock-down chorus to match. The bouncy, “The American Scream” sounds built to light up a crowd in the live setting (never mind the very serious lyrics), while the desperation of “Eating Me Alive” soaks in the broth of long-running bitterness. The subtle keys on this track are reflective of the band’s shift in focus, adding an extra dimension to the rhythm section, but not pulling away from it. This Addiction is intentionally short on studio production ‘bulk’ – compare with “Time to Waste” or “Mercy Me” from Crimson, and the differences are immediate.

Matt Skiba’s vocals sound healthy and truly shine on the mid-tempo “Draculina.” Dan Andriano provides strong backing vocals on this song, and it’s the rare tune on the album where the differences in their respective voices coagulate into something much bigger. So much has been made over the years of “Matt songs” versus “Dan songs,” and wherever you might side on that, having the two contribute vocals together bears a worthy result.

If there’s a fault with This Addiction, it is simply that the album is so balanced that it comes to a conclusion with a smooth braking motion – the exact opposite of the booming “Into the Night” that shut down Agony & Irony. For a band that does mammoth sing-along choruses so well, it’s a crime for the band not to maximize that on an album’s swan song.

Epitaph