Alkaline Trio - Goddamnit!

Influential punk band’s debut, now comes with extra pain…

Ten years ago, Asian Man issued this debut album from Alkaline Trio. It was a dark, depressive, visceral collection, its moving songs fuelled by a dependency on alcohol and a spiralling self-destructive savagery.

At points, the songs crack open and fall apart, much like the hearts and minds behind them. It’s more than art imitating life (or, perhaps, the lack of it), it’s life and art absorbing and becoming each other; unadulterated cathartic expression. Raw, desperate and occasionally sloppy, Goddamnit! wasn’t a perfect record but, actually, that’s precisely why it kind of was.

That Alkaline Trio made it through those days is surprising. A decade later, however, they’re one of the most respected punk bands around, remembering, remastering, remixing and reliving their old agonies. Musically and emotionally, Goddamnit! sounds as fresh as it did in 1998, but the songs feel closer: more real, more painful. The improved sound is just the beginning. Remastered demo tracks, a DVD charting their rise to fame, sleevenotes by the band and – for the hardcore collector – five different coloured vinyl versions all combine to make this more than a reissue. It’s a firm reassertion of a modern, if unlikely, classic.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Asian Man Records | AM-160

Reviewed by Mischa Pearlman
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