Album Review: Alkaline Trio - My Shame Is True

For the past 15 years, Illinois' Alkaline Trio have built a reputation as one of the most consistent pop-punk bands on the planet, and on album number nine they deliver their most solid effort in years. 

On their second album proper with Epitaph, which was engineered and produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room, the experimental flourishes of some of their more recent releases have been pushed to the background. My Shame Is True kicks off with She Lied To The FBI, an unadulterated, catchy pop-punk number with a sing-along chorus that recalls some of the band's finest moments. Next up is the equally impressive I Wanna Be A Warhol, which features the unmistakable back-up vocals of The Lawrence Arms' Brendan Kelly, and the lyrically darker but still musically upbeat I'm Only Here To Disappoint. Kiss You To Death is another highlight, as is the more bleak I, Pessimist, which features co-vocals from Rise Against frontman Tim McIlwrath. The sluggish Only Love doesn't fare as well, but things quickly pick up again on The Torture Doctor, which features a “Hey-Ho” peppered chorus.  Despite its reflective subject matter, the punchy Midnight Blue is one of the album's most melodic and musically upbeat tracks. The album closes on a high note with the touching Young Lovers and relative slow-burner, Until Death Do Us Part. 

What really separates Alkaline Trio from their peers when they're in-form is their passion, which My Shame Is True has in spades. It's a welcome addition to their already impressive discography.