Album Review: At The Drive-In - Acrobatic Tenement (Reissue)
- Written by David Beech
At the Drive-In are more than just a band; they're a legacy unto themselves. Over the course of eight years and three albums (nobody said it was a long legacy) they managed to burn so bright, so intensely that they forever left a scorch mark on the post-hardcore genre that can't ever be undone. After a distinctly cliché break-up in 2001, members went on to form The Mars Volta and Sparta before their 'indefinite hiatus' finally came to an end early last year and now, almost a year after the initial announcements, the reissues we've been promised are here, and what better way to begin than with the bands incendiary 1996 début Acrobatic Tenement.
The first track on the album is 'Star Slight' and finds singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals sounding as fraught as ever. whereas Jim Ward's backing vocals bring to mind Jawbreaker-era Blake Schwarzenbach which only serves to add to the pained intensity that has become synonymous with the At the Drive-In.
'Embroglio' - sounding like an early AFI record - hints at the angular and staccato guitars that came to prominence on later albums and is as heartfelt as it is furious, never pausing for breath as it relentlessly rattles towards it's climax before giving way to the Sunny Day Real Estate-esque 'Initiation'. Here Bixler-Zavala's vocals are particularly indicative of one Jeremy Enigk, the verses sore to the trademark falsetto heights that both he and Enigk are renowned for, while the chorus takes no prisoners, sounding like a more refined and dare I say it, talented, Rites of Spring.
The album ends on a discordant note. 'Porfirio Diaz' speeds the album towards it's conclusion in true Drive-In fashion. Staccato vocals and no-prisoners drumming aids the velocity while the guitars are abrasive and angular, paving the way for future post-hardcore bands such as Every Time I Die and Alexisonfire.
While the reissue of the band's back catalogue is definitely something to be glad about; the idea of a band who went out at the top of their game reforming just reeks of empty bank accounts. Many of last year's live performances resulted in a deluge of comments proclaiming that the band, and Bixler-Zavala in particular, just looked bored on stage. In the early days of their career their live reputation proceeded them, now it seemed that the dollar signs were almost visible in their eyes as they retreaded old set-lists. Of course, it goes without saying that, to the band, old songs just wouldn't resonate the same way fifteen years down the line, and that the obvious thing to do would be to write some material. However, paradoxically, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López has “ruled out the possibility of the band recording new material.” Which just begs the question: If not for the money, then why? While the reissued albums allow a new generation of fans to discover their music and their passion, the live shows just mar the legacy of a band that birthed a plethora of acts in its wake.
Acrobatic Tenement is re-released on March 25th and will be available on amazon and iTunes.