Alkaline Trio Gets Back to Basics

For a band that’s just released its seventh studio album, Chicago’s Alkaline Trio isn’t showing its age. The rockers’ latest effort, This Addiction, is a fast 40 minutes of stripped-down punk that hearkens back to their early days.

“This new record is actually sort of a step backwards in terms of having it take a more simplistic and honest approach to things,” drummer Derek Grant tells me over the phone. “Each new album was a very important step in getting us to where we are today.”

Taking steps back to move forward, the guys of Alkaline Trio returned to their hometown of Chicago to the studio where their earliest recordings were done – even using the producer who they’d first worked with – to make This Addiction. As Grant explains, this return to the group’s musical roots is part of the transition back from more experimental albums, such as 2005’s Crimson. “That was, in my eyes, sort of this, this pinnacle in us exploring different sounds, and really trying to push our writing,” he says.

While the new record is also garnering praise for the depth of its songwriting, Grant insists that this, too, is nothing new. “I feel like there’s always been a great deal of emotional depth to the lyrics, and, you know, I think that a lot of people relate to it for that reason,” he says.

It’s that relatability and depth that has helped build an uncommonly long career for Alkaline Trio – with music that roars out of the gate but also strikes you with its truthfulness. Grant reiterates that the key to this long-term success is honesty: “When it comes to any sort of art, I just think you’ve got to be pure. I think if it’s not coming from someplace honest, people can tell.”

While most bands would have passed their expiration date three albums ago, Alkaline Trio is still going strong. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that getting back to the basics could easily be just another pit stop for this band, whose music never ceases to change.