At the Drive-In - Acrobatic Tenement CD ( VINYL )

Acrobatic Tenement exhibits old school American punk at it's rawest form. Like a dog on a leash, the album pulls against the strings of submissive rock and goes that step further in an explosion of a hard hitting material. Due to their docile introductions, listeners are conned into believing that particular songs, such as 'Blue Tag' and 'Coating of Arms', will prove to be considerably safe and mainstream, before embracing ATDI's rebellious flair that erupts soon after. With this in mind, songs such as 'Initiation' perhaps combine the soft-loud dynamics impressively, generating the type of song that would encourage crowd participation at a gig. Other songs, including the vibrant 'Embroglio' and 'Skip on a Record', envisage an angry crowd of hardcore fans, happily flailing around the rants of singer, Cedric Bixler's vocals. 'Communication Drive-In' perhaps highlights the early stages of 'emo' with it's anarchist sound and sinister lyrical depth, proving the initial potential that At the Drive-In possessed was considered as highly influential to rock musicians through the next decade. Each song is so stripped down and untamed that the final product sounds almost as fresh as the band right before your very eyes no hidden edits equals a clear description of the band's identity.