NaCl(aq)

We are not the kids we used to be.

(photo from Rhapsody blog; credit unknown)

I checked out the new Alexisonfire album Old Crows/Young Cardinals today. My expectations were set pretty low. These guys were my favorite during my early college days, but like all the other bands I listened to then, I figured they’d be riding the screamo wave dry, still hanging on for dear life.

To my surprise and delight, I was wrong. They knew that’s what everyone else did before rolling into the Land of Bands Who Once Rocked But Now Suck. So they bailed and worked on maturing their sound and writing something adventurous. And they’ll be first to tell you, in their opening track: “We are not the kids we used to be (stop wishing for yesterday).”

Sure, it’s got a bit of that arena punk sound the kids love right now (Green Day, Rise Against, etc), and maybe I’m biased because of my nostalgia toward the group, but dammit, I like it. OC/YC has the guts of the Alexisonfire I love with the maturity and confidence that comes from studying abroad.

Fav tracks: Old Crows, Born and Raised, Emerald Street - and Midnight Regulations, because it sounds like their old stuff :)

You can listen to select tracks here.