At The Drive-in

At The Drive-In's newest is an alternative album, knowingly so. At least some of its words seem inaudible and often appear to lack a clear meaning. The guitar lines unleash more corrosiveness, and a greater accompanying energetic buzz than the effects of your favourite cola. The bass and drums rock, often in a hard-hitting and quite fast style. Let's be honest: these songs will probably never unseat the likes of [insert current popstar here] from the top of any singles chart. But let us not allow such a socioeconomic misfortune to stop us from enjoying an album that is great not only on occasion but pretty consistently.

Aside from some great short extracts, the chief of which must be, "There's no wolf like the present/Prey on our history and scrap it for parts", the lyrics are generally lacking for reasons listed above. But there is clearly great work on display by all instrumentalists, and even the backing vocals are noteworthy. Everything stands out, and yet it is mostly good (at least). Therefore you might expect less of the work here to be rising its head in such a way, since none of it is massively superior to any other part besides the wordsmith's department.

Drums work together potently with their four-stringed, low-pitched counterpart, which goes in and out with simplicity but effectiveness. The singing makes it clear the vocalists (even those in the background) mean business, even if you cannot understand what to do with what they are saying - except perhaps get excited. It all blends together into an infectious brew fit for the kings of indie rock. All of this is true before we even get to the guitar parts.

Continue reading: At The Drive-In - Interalia Album Review

Originally released in 2000, At The Drive-In's third and final album Relationship of Command would go on to become one of those underground cult classic albums, gaining critical acclaim immediately. What followed was an ugly break up in a haze of drug addiction and the exhaustion of endless touring. On their previous two albums (Acrobatic Tenement and In/Casino/Out) the band never really got it quite right, but with Relationship of Command, El Paso's angriest sons finally hit pay-dirt.

This album is perhaps most well-known rightly for its explosive, jagged post-hardcore guitar riffing on tracks such as the brilliant opener Arcarsenal and the unforgettable, classic single One Armed Scissor. You also get Cedric Bixler-Zavala spitting out about one thousand words per minute on songs such as Pattern Against User and the discordant Sleepwalk Capsules. All of these tracks stand out as highlights in an album packed tightly, wall to wall with highlights. This plays out like a greatest hits set.

Elsewhere on the album the band show a more dark and broody side, with the passionate, slow burning strains of Quarantined and the spoken word experimentalism of the epic Invalid Letter Dept. These songs offer perhaps not respite or relief, but variety to this impressive mix.

Continue reading: At The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command Album Review