This review is part of a series looking back at significant albums on their anniversaries. Through the benefit of hindsight we will be viewing the album not just as it was released, but how it stands the test of time, as well as its place in the band’s discography and the genre in general.
Vagrant – 3 April 2001
An often maligned album when it was released, From Here to Infirmary proves it can stand the test of time.
I was in high school when I decided to buy a New Found Glory t-shirt at a certain alternative culture chain store that shall remain nameless, let’s just call them “Not Gothic.” The clerk at Not Gothic saw what shirt I was buying and convinced me to also purchase a cheap compilation album of other artists I might like. The compilation, called Another Year On the Streets, was the latest comp from Vagrant Records, probably the best emo label at the time if you preferred your emo with a healthy dose of pop, which I always have. The compilation introduced me to a number of artists that I would come to adore, including The Get Up Kids, Saves the Day, and The Anniversary. But the song that caught my attention the most on that compilation was the opening track, which was “Crawl” by Alkaline Trio. The song intrigued me with its dark tone that seemed so self aware and tongue-in-cheek while somehow being completely serious at the same time, which pretty accurately describes Alkaline Trio’s style: it’s both emo and a parody of emo at the same time, all while pulling from goth and horror punk influences.
Alkaline Trio was started in 1996 by Matt Skiba with drummer Glenn Porter and bassist Rob Doran, but when Doran left after recording the band’s first single, he was replaced by bassist Dan Andriano of Slapstick, the band who wrote the song this site is named after. Andriano would become the band’s second frontman alongside Skiba, with both men serving as singers and songwriters in the band. Their first two albums were released on Slapstick’s former label, Asian Man Records, but with Ak3’s popularity putting strain on the small label even Mike Park, Asian Man founder, was keen for them to move on to a new label, prompting the move to Vagrant, which was a perfect place for Alkaline Trio’s particular brand of emo and pop-punk.
After near universal praise for the band’s first two albums, a lot of harsh and, frankly, unfair criticism was leveled at their third LP From Here to Infirmary. One I distinctly remember reading at the time from Ari Wiznitzer of AllMusic who called it “the first Alkaline Trio release to have any filler,” which always irked me because, to this day, I can’t listen to Maybe I’ll Catch Fire without skipping ahead to my favorite tracks, while I can listen to From Here… straight through from start to finish. Other critics, especially from the punk scene itself, complained of its more pop sound, as if “pop” is a dirty word. I realize that I might have a slight bias writing 20 years later about the album that got me into them, but, along with Goddamnit! and Crimson , I would rank From Here to Infirmary as one of The Trio’s best. And, for all the apocalyptic predictions that this album would cause an irreversible plunge into mediocrity, Alkaline Trio went on to prove the critics wrong, becoming the rare pop-punk band that gets spoken about favorably by those who normally despise pop, and even earning them a co-headlining tour with hardcore legends, Bad Religion, which was unfortunately postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19.
The lyrics on this album are absolutely hilarious at times, sometimes for their cleverness like “If assholes could fly this place would be busier than O’Hare,” sometimes for their startling bluntness like “Remember when I said I love you/Well forget it; I take it back.” Alternately the lines “He likes to spill all his guts/On the top of a well-stacked pile/Then swallow them bit by bit/Remembering every scar” stands as one of the most viscerally disturbing images I’ve ever heard in a song. Ak3 are also very clever with their references, like the quick George Carlin reference “I watched flies fuck on Channel 11” in “Private Eye,” or the Joe Strummer-style mumble in the intro to “Another Innocent Girl,” which I’m convinced is an intentional nod to Strummer considering that an old t-shirt design for Ak3 featured the Clash’s first album cover with Alkaline Trio’s logo superimposed over it. One of the biggest themes of the album is substance abuse, which the lyrics don’t necessarily depict as a negative thing, but more as a fact of life. Throughout this emo album are stories of many unhealthy coping mechanisms and the darkest corners of depression and sorrow, but all the while Skiba and Andriano maintain enough tongue-in-cheek self-awareness to keep from sinking too far into self-indulgence.
“Private Eye” is a hard-hitting opener with its onslaught of power chords and gorgeous melody. “Mr. Chainsaw” is one of the catchiest songs on the album without cutting out any of the chunky power chords that make this album so great. This song often gets criticized for its closing lines that spell out the song’s already obvious metaphor, but that’s part of the band’s hilarious tongue-in-cheek humor that borders on self-deprecation. “Stupid Kid” is a pop-punk classic that thrives on making it funny to be mean. “You’re Dead” is often cited as this album’s equivalent to “San Francisco” from the band’s debut album, but it never manages to slow down quite as much as “San Francisco,” thus keeping the tempo of the album moving. “I’m Dying Tomorrow” muses on the regrets one would have when facing the prospect of having 24 hours to live, but, true to The Trio’s style, the song isn’t about the regrets that one is “supposed” to have when dying, but rather regrets for not being more unhealthy and destructive. “Trucks and Trains” has one of the most killer, infectious guitar riffs that often gets overlooked and which contributes to this album’s darkly gothic tone. Finally, I know I’m biased because it’s the song that got me into the band, but I think “Crawl” is the album’s best song, if not the band’s best song, and a perfect closer to a tremendous album.
Alkaline Trio, still going strong today, now has their own sub-label called Heart and Skull on the legendary punk record label Epitaph Records. In the punk world, that can only be described as having “made it.” Furthermore, whenever you hear anyone bemoan the evils of pop-punk, you often hear them list Alkaline Trio as the exception, as “one of the good ones.” The mixed to negative reception to From Here to Infirmary seems almost silly in hindsight, as the band has won over some of their own biggest critics and cemented a legacy in punk history that is not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. From Here to Infirmary is the album where they really whittled their songs down to lean, muscular punk songs with slick hooks and haunting melodies. If people who were wrong about this album could fly, this place would be busier than O’Hare.
Julie is punk rock, lesbian time lady from the future. The greatest things in the world are punk rock and science fiction. Check out her website JulieRiver.com!
