By this point in their career, a new album by the Alkaline Trio is a fairly predictable occurrence. Though “This Addiction” has been generating press as a record that returns the band to their punk rock roots, it really doesn’t sound all that different from the their last few outings. You get the usual stuff — alternating singers, songs about drinking, girls and blood (and even drinking girls’ blood), with a few new elements thrown in, like a trumpet solo on “Lead Poisoning” and some New Wave synths. The Trio did, however, return to their hometown of Chicago to record it — something they hadn’t done since 2001’s “From Here to Infirmary.”

But give the band credit. They picked a style and gimmick, evolved it as they went along and have stuck with it ever since, even down to their song title choices — usually a dark bent on a popular phrase. They riff on The Misfits’ “Die, Die My Darling” via “Dine, Dine My Darling.” There’s “The American Scream,” which may have been a better title for the record. And towards the end of the album, a song about a girl named “Draculina,” which pretty much ensures that obsessive fan somewhere will bequeath on their offspring this unfortunate name.

Having said all this — the record is solid. It’s predictable, but that’s not a bad thing. More exciting, however, may be the prospect of some material from some of the band’s side projects…

Sadly, Heavens, a two-piece band featuring Matt Skiba and Josiah Steinbrick of F-Minus, won’t be releasing more music beyond their “Patent Pending” record, a dark, Wire-inspired album that took the best parts from each songwriter and morphed them into something new and thrilling and unlike either of their main projects.
Heavens – “Patent Pending”

Dan Andriano recently made available the demos from his Emergency Room project, though it isn’t a group effort as much as a solo outing with a different name. The songs are mostly acoustic and fall somewhere between his mellower Trio material and the Shins, but it’s different enough from his band stuff to stand on its own. Here’s to hoping a proper record will follow.
The Emergency Room – “This Light”

Later this year, Matt Skiba is slated to release an album of his demos via Asian Man, the Trio’s original label. Its release was intended to coincide with the launch of “This Addiction,” but has since been bumped until later this year, presumably by an unhappy Epitaph who didn’t want any competing Skiba projects on the shelf at the same time.
Matt Skiba – “In Your Wake”

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