Band:	Alexisonfire
Album:	Old Crows/Young C…

Alexisonfire doesn’t really adhere to the archetypal standard of what pop music should be. Despite this they have been at the top of the Canadian charts for almost 8 years, having garnered fans in both traditional metal/punk circles as well as the all important 14-year-old-girl-pop-music-lover camp. It’s a pretty strange thing to have seen happen.

Regardless of popular success they have had and a couple of Canadian certified platinum records up on their wall, AOF have managed to stay true to themselves for the most part. Starting with tempo changes, metal guitar and off-kilter drums on their self-titled debut, then shifting to somewhat slower, better-produced sing-along jams on their 2006 release “Crisis”. Not that the songs completely sold them out to be Bon Jovi-esqe pop-whores, but you could tell that there was something happening in the AOF camp; something very different then what their hardcore base of fans were used to.

This brings us to this year’s release, “Old Crows/Young Cardinals”, a sonically different record then “Crisis” and a light year leap away from both their debut record and 2004’s “Watch Out”. George Petit, vocalist (screamer, really) has been quoted as saying that he wants AOF to be the band to kill screamo. I’m not sure if this record was a direct attempt at first-degree murder but lets just call this the “bloody glove” of the prosecution’s argument.

“OC/YC” defies almost every screamo convention, aside from a few dispersed screams from Petit, instead relying more and more on vocalists Dallas Green and Wade McNeil. The production is thick and full, eschewing the slick guitar work that defined the first three albums, and focusing more on a groove then a riff. This is all well and good for a band that has paid their dues over the years but it comes off as a bit immature to me. The technical side of AOF’s instrumentation that brought in the metal fans is almost entirely gone, embracing a more straight forward rock formula, albeit one that some fans of the band could still latch on to.

It’s the immaturity in songs like lead single “Young Cardinals” that drive me insane. Sounding more like three songs frankensteined together then a singular, cohesive musical thought, “Young Cardinals” starts off as a punk rager that’s out of step with AOF’s normal sound, then, out of nowhere, with no warning, Dallas’ vocals cut through in the soaring way that they always do, stepping out over a traditional chorus structure, spiced up with a little Southern Rock riff. It all feels like a nasty cut and paste job.

It’s rare that I listen to a record that I dislike as much as this one. Even though the production is spot on and it does have flashes of previous AOF glory, there’s nothing for fans to hold on to. The band may be trying to push the boundaries of what they’ve done in the past, while trying to kill off the genre that created them in the first place, but they’ve got some work to do.

To put it bluntly, this is an unfocused effort by a band that is already spreading itself to thin with a plethora of side projects and heavy touring schedules. This album shows AOF relying on simple songs structures, simple instrumentation, and repeated themes that define a forgettable record. It sounds like the band is trying to grow up but they’re forcing the process by adding time and space on the record, a very effective tool for a lot of bands, but one that is misused by a band known for their energy. And how overused and clichéd is the drum intro on “Emerald Street”? It hurts me to say this, as a long time fan and supporter of the band, but it sounds like Alexisonfire got lazy on this one.

Alexisonfire Official Site
Alexisonfire on MySpace
Alexisonfire - “Old Crows/Young Cardinals” on Amazon

Release Date: June 23rd, 2009

“Old Crows/Young Cardinals” - Tracklist
(* recommended tracks)

1. Old Crows
2. Young Cardinals
3. Sons of Privilege
4. Born and Raised
5. No Rest
6. The Northern*
7. Midnight Regulation*
8. Emerald Street* (except for that stupid, ugly, 1990s Green Day drum intro)
9. Heading for the Sun
10. Accept Crime
11. Burial

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