Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes (Vagrant)
4/5
By: Sofie Jenkinson
This shiny, double-sized nugget of treasure from Alkaline Trio is a very perplexing little number, as we're thrown straight into a ditty with all the formulaic zap and vigour of any number of their songs, seemingly a perfect tit-bit for peddling most recent album release 'Remains', made up of B-sides and rarities.
There's a consistent tapping riff washed over with Skiba's trademark acid edged tone. It is only on realising that you know all the words after hearing only 20 seconds of the song you start to wonder... I mean, yeah, they're good at catchy, but surely not that good... Well no, they're currently not, because it's actually off the breakthrough album 'From Here to Infirmary', which is maybe what makes this the perfect choice, reeling you back in just like it did the first time.
It's a chorus so infectious that it gets you hook, line and sinker from the off, and to pull the line causes feet to tap uncontrollably, whilst Skiba aptly sings out "I've done it before and I'll do it again." Though part of a set deemed 'rarities', on further investigation it appears to be a track only included on European and Japanese releases - so rare only to the American set then it seems.
The second delight offers up something completely different, taking Alkaline trio down a level until they are almost horizontal and completely soaked in pure reggae. Rancid's Tim Armstrong is here offering a big chunk of chill out to seal this cherry a-top a very accomplished and beautifully encased set of B-sides and rarities. From classic and to extremely rare in two easy steps, it sounds like the kind of great taste only akin to stealing a whole paper plate of cheese on a cocktail sticks from Tesco's delicatessen.
Artists in this article: Alkaline Trio
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