Alkaline Trio

This Chicago band owes more to the shifting rhythms, undulating crunchy guitars and sung/shouted vocals of emo than to influences of hardcore punk. Formed in 1997, Alkaline Trio features ex-members of Midwestern bands Jerkwater, 88 Fingers Louie and Slapstick. Their formative years were fueled by booze and heartache, resulting in the bleary hangover lyrics of "Crawl." Those emotionally careening motifs persisted, fueling newer singles like "Mercy Me," an anthemic hum-along packed with self-hatred and ennui. Founded by vocalist/guitarist and former bike messenger Matt Skiba, the Alkaline Trio put out two albums on Asian Man Records. This was shortly followed up with a self-titled collection of early singles and EPs. In 2001, Alkaline Trio shuffled band members and signed to Vagrant for the release of From Here to Infirmary. Two years later they followed it up with Good Mourning, which made an appearance in Billboard 's Top-200 charts. There were a few more internal breaks in 2004, not fortunately within the band -- but due to Matt Skiba's adventures in skateboarding. First, he fractured his wrist, delaying the release of their fifth album to May 2005, and then as soon as that healed, he jumped back on his board and broke his left arm. Healed up Skiba and the latest lineup (drummer Derek Grant and bassist Dan Andriano) embarked on a near-sellout tour in support of Crimson, complete with an orchestral accompaniment. Perhaps in response to this, they've released a "deluxe edition" of the album with an additional disc of rougher hewn originals to please both their angry youthful admirers along with their more recently acquired pop-oriented fans.