More Young Cardinals, One Fewer Old Crow. Farewell Alexisonfire

            After watching countless young musicians mourn the loss of Alexisonfire, and reading new music guru Alan Cross’s ode to hindsight about the situation, I feel obliged to point out that musically, this is for the best. 

            Many of the young fans that are currently eulogizing the band, were under 10 years old when AOF started, and missed the most exciting chapter.  The first album came out with a ton of things working against it.  Appearing on a new independent label, the music was obviously outside the mainstream.  Radio airplay was out of the question, and it didn’t really fit in either typical outsider category, punk or metal.  There were definitely elements that were influenced by hardcore punk, but there were just as many nods to metal, and at the time, you were supposed to be one or the other.

            Then there was the name.  Even people who’d bought the album couldn’t agree on whether it was Alexis ON Fire or Alex IS on Fire.  Yet things aligned in a way they hadn’t for Canadian bands since the early 90’s and this thing easily passed 50,000 copies in a relatively short time.  What caused it?  Some strong songs, the acceptance of both punk and metal fans, terrific word of mouth, and  a pretty cool cover.  Muchmusic picked up the videos, because they didn’t really have a choice.  People were supporting the band so Pulmonary Archery, Waterwings, and Counterparts all got moderate airplay, and the ball was rolling.

            By 2004’s follow up, Watch Out!, AOF were part of the national conscious in Canada.  The album sold 6,000 copies in it’s first week putting it firmly in the top 10, and with good reason.  The songs were improving; and the range of influences shared space amicably, instead of colliding in a circle pit of riffs and rhythms, a common problem for post-hardcore bands.  It showed some growing pains, but mostly consolidated the promise of the debut.

            Unfortunately by 2006’s Crisis, the seams were beginning to show.  Although many international and mainstream critics praised it as their best to date, two glaring problems occurred to me.  First, the first single Crisis was based around a riff completely pilfered from the New Noise by Refused.  When I first played it to Mark Wanka (Guitar/Vocals for Teen Violence, Gran Casino, and a fellow guitar teacher), his response was a disbelieving “they can’t do that”.  The other more disturbing thing I noticed was that despite obvious hooks and anthemic sing-a-long choruses, it became obvious that these songs were more an exercise in balancing two distinct voices than a unified vision.  It became clear that in the process of trying to redefine a whole genre, they’d become so completely entangled in it, that it impeded their growth musically.  They'd become captives in a musical net they'd woven themselves, from the inside.

The side projects started gaining prominence, and diverting time and creativity from AOF.  The impulses that could have help the band grow past an awkward adolescence were acted on outside of the band, to satisfying results, and it became obvious that AOF had become “lifestyle maintenance”, (to quote Lester Bangs), rather than a primary outlet for creativity. 

By the time 2009’s Old Crows/Young Cardinals came out, the splits were even more obvious.  The songs had become predictable in the way they traded of catchy sung choruses and screamed verses.  They were still catchy, and radio loved it, but it seemed like a façade of the original band.  Financially they were doing better than ever.  The album debuted at #2 in Canada, and #81 in the United States.   The tours were even bigger and more successful, which would have made it even harder to call it quits, had the decision not been made before the tour.  Dallas Green had already put in notice that it was his last tour in the band, and thankfully the rest of the members had the good grace not to try and carry on.  Dallas was as essential as Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney, and the band would have been as sad and awkward as an amputee ballroom dancer if they’d tried to perservere.

By the time radio started playing AOF’s cover of Midnight Oil’s the Dead Heart, it was obvious they were kicking at the ghost of ass.  Just hanging around for the paycheques, but not willing to put any real creativity on the line to justify it.  I was more than ready for the announcement they were done, and when it didn’t come, I figured they were done, but didn’t want to close the door behind them just in case. 

But don’t be sad.  City and Colour have grown into a fully fleshed idea rather than a front for Dallas’s quiet bedroom musings.  And having been lucky enough to catch Black Lungs performance at NXNE, I’m really looking forward to their 2^nd album.  We will be left with two bands that will continue to grow and explore new musical terrain, not one formerly influential one sleepwalking for a paycheque.