Alkaline Trio

Agony, yes. Irony? Perhaps that came in Alkaline Trio's snippet of reality TV fame, which caught them recording "In Vein" on MTV's The Hills. Rolling with the "cool kids" may have lost them some punk cred, but these grown-up boys still battle with unrequited love and woes like all the rest of us. Frontman Matt Skiba sings like he's got a permanent sneer, evoking Billie Joe Armstrong and admitting "I don't want to let go of my rage/ Because it's the salt that brings the taste." Peaks of upbeat pop supplement their ire via bouncy hooks, stunted riffs and flippant "blah blah blahs."

When My Chemical Romance struck platinum, Alkaline Trio might have wondered, "Why
not us?" The Chicago group has spent more than a decade evolving from a Misfits-inspired
hardcore act into craftsmen of exquisite doom-pop. Having recently signed with a major
label, the Trio grab for the brass ring with Agony & Irony, enlisting producer Josh Abraham
(Linkin Park, Velvet Revolver) to spin their big-hooked tales of funerals and hear... More >