Alexisonfire – iTunes Originals
Record Label: Vagrant Records
Release Date: September 28, 2010
You might find it odd that it doesn’t open with “Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints,” but iTunes Originals is essentially an “Alexisonfire’s Greatest Recent Hits” deal. It plays like an audio documentary, alternating among the best of Old Crows / Young Cardinals, live renditions of beloved favorites, and interview clips for a total of 24 tracks. That’s a fine bargain for its $9.99 price tag.
The music:
As mentioned above, the must-haves from Old Crows – which means roof raisers like “Young Cardinals,” “Born and Raised” and “Midnight Regulations” – are present. But the real gems are the live tracks. While none of them are drastically different from their original versions (aside from “Happiness By the Kilowatt,” which is extended by more than three minutes), they all carry that raw energy that makes live recordings distinct, which helps already driving songs like “Waterwings” further push its intensity. For those still virgin to Alexisonfire’s live show, they serve as evidence the band is capable of reproducing its high-energy studio sound on stage with little difficulty. One listen to Dallas Green’s vocal exhibition on “This Could Be Anywhere In The World” here should put any doubts to rest.
The interview:
Despite clocking at just around 21 minutes, the interview, which is conducted with vocalist George Pettit and guitarists Wade MacNeil and Green, is adequately entertaining. The three discuss everything from the formation of the band, to spiders the size of their fists, to blues music. In one segment, Pettit searches for a “post-“ suffix to categorize the band he played in before Alexisonfire. He jokingly concludes that it was a “post-rock” band, to which MacNeil replies “you were just a post, a shining post!” So there’s a decent amount of humor thrown into the mix as well.
Overall:
iTunes Originals probably won’t impress long-time fans, but for newer fans just beginning to discover Alexisonfire, it’s the ideal way to get an understanding of what the band is all about, as well as a feel for what direction they’ll be taking their sound in in the future. It’s something to tide us all over as we wait anxiously for the Dog’s Blood EP, too.
aof is a amazing band i saw them play with la dispute and trash talk and they put on the best live show ive ever seen. sounded just like the albums and the energy of them and the crowd was mind blowing.
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