Alkaline Trio’s new song, “Demon and Division” from Is This Thing Cursed? boasts a clever music video, set on an old-fashioned stage in black and dark red hues. The band recently released their ninth album, Is This Thing Cursed? In the video, a star magician conjurs his muse starlet to float five feet off the ground, then morph into a dancing skeleton. The magician does other tricks to entertain the crowd.
The song delivers an upbeat punk sound with punchy lyrics that urge one to overcome personal loss and soften one’s overly critical parts with lyrics like, “I lost everything, everything, everything but the pain. I set my alarm for an early start that I slept through. I’ve torn apart all chances of stealing your heart that sunless morning. I won’t apologize, you are killing me.”
Since the mid-90’s, Alkaline Trio have represented their midwestern Chicago roots, performing at The Warped Tour and headlining for My Chemical Romance in 2005. The group’s vocalist, Matt Skiba left the band in 2015 to join Blink 182 then later had throat surgery.
Matt Skiba, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus from Blink 182, announced their release of five new songs together in 2015. Barker said, “Matt [Skiba]’s killing it. He’s fun to play with and write with. We’re just getting started, but I think we’ve got like four or five songs right now that I’m really happy with. There’s a song called Punk Rock Cliché,” which I love the most right now. It’s about friends of ours and their relationships.” Matt Skiba recently joined Blink 182, replacing Tom Delonge.
Some of the early hits from Alkaline Trio which hit the Billboard Top 20 include Good Mourning released by Vagrant Records in 2003. Their seventh LP, This Addiction topped the rock, alternative and indie charts in 2010. Alkaline Trio made their full-length debut in 1998 with Goddamnit! an album with heartbreak tales and anti-cop rants which earned them a modest following.
Is This Thing Cursed? Tracklist:
1. Is This Thing Cursed?
2. Blackbird
3. Demon and Division
4. Little Help?
5. I Can’t Believe
6. Sweet Vampires
7. Pale Blue Ribbon
8. Goodbye Fire Island
9. Stay
10. Heart Attacks
11. Worn So Thin
12. Throw Me To The Lions
13. Krystalline