Anyone that has been following Alexisonfire over the last seven years knew it was time for the band to make some changes. The band's self-titled debut and Watch Out! established the band as the kings of Canadian screamo – there's no arguing or debating that fact – and the band both enjoyed and flourished in that acceptance. When Crisis came along in 2006, the album found Alexisonfire at the absolute pinnacle of its powers as the songs added up to a distilled and perfected form of the sounds on the band's first and second records and backed by the densest, most complicated work that producer Julius Butty had ever put together for them. It was great, but what no one could have guessed was that it would be the final chapter in the first act of Alexisonfire's career.
Singer George Pettit (and he is credited, for the first time, as lead vocalist on Old Crows / Young Cardinals) says it best in the chorus of “Old Crows” when he growls, “We are not the kids we used to be.”
Old Crows / Young Cardinals can only be characterized as the first installment of Alexisonfire's mature sound as, for the first time on record, the band pulls together a single consistent tempo and attack rather than sounding a screamo powerhouse band splintered by three singers as they have previously. While all three of those voices remain as distinct as they've always been, this time out singers Pettit (who sings more than he screams on Old Crows / Young Cardinals), Dallas Green and Wade Macneil adopt a more choral, call-and-response approach to vocal parts instead of simply throwing the microphone to each other at odd moments as they have previously and the effect amounts to a series of far more dynamic movements within the songs; as aggressive or cathartic as songs like “Old Crows,” “Sons Of Privilege” and “Accept Crime” might get as the spiral along their course, they hold together tighter than they ever have previously and the effect is mesmerizing; on Old Crows / Young Cardinals, Alexisonfire doesn't try to bridge the difference between vocal parts so much as have each vocal presence perform closer to the music in the songs as if they came first and the vocals were added second.
It works better too that the music is more level and consistent. For OC / YC, the band jettisons its hardcore crunch and melodic emo veering in favour of adopting a more conventional and solid punk rock backing that flows easily between singers and propels them through rather than seeming to stop and change styles by the moment to accommodate what's coming next. The effect is easier to take (though certainly not lighter) and all three vocalists take well to the change rather than simply dealing with it (the exception to that lies in “The Northern,” where Pettit sounds a little awkward) – they even gang up on the music occasionally and work together to present the strongest melodies they've ever written.
With Old Crows / Young Cardinals now out and the precedents it sets now established, the onus of whether it takes off will be split between the band and its fans. There's no doubt that Alexisonfire can pull these songs off live because, other than Dallas Green's increasingly involved vocal melodies, there's not a lot here that fans didn't know the band was capable of. The question will be whether or not fans will be willing to grow with the band and recognize the craftsmanship of what they've done on Old Crows / Young Cardinals over the fact that they're not simply wailing and grinding anymore. Because that question of acceptance continues to hang, Old Crows / Young Cardinals is still a make-it-or-break-it album for Alexisonfire, but the risk that the band has taken here is that the result will be beyond the band's control. This album shows a lot of growth for Alexisonfire, here's hoping that fans recognize and embrace it.
Artist:
Alexisonfire online
Alexisonfire myspace
Download:
“Young Cardinals” from Old Crows / Young Cardinals by Alexisonfire.
Album:
Old Crows / Young Cardinals is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
