AFI – Sing the Sorrow 2LP

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**Limited Edition Red / Black Pinwheel Vinyl!

Sing the Sorrow, their DreamWorks debut, isn’t the wholesale departure from AFI’s roots that some longtime fans griped about. It is merely the next step on a path that began with 1999’sBlack Sails in Sunset, the first album to feature guitaristJade Puget. Assuming the role of principal songwriter,Pugetwrapped vocalistDavey Havok‘s gothic tendencies in songs that put a finer point on the aggressive hardcore of AFI’s earlier material, and massaged hooks from a morass of crashing rhythm, punk rock riffs, andHavok‘s opaque lyrics. The backing of DreamWorks meant that AFI could now hire major-league production to tweak whatPugethad started. And they did. Work on AFI’s major-label bow began in August of 2002 at L.A.’s Cello Studios, withButch Vig(Nirvana,Smashing Pumpkins) andJerry Finn(Green Day,Rancid) at the helm. Emerging in early 2003 with Sing the Sorrow, it’s clear the molting process AFI began withBlack Sails in Sunsetis complete.VigandFinnkept the band’s nucleus of pummeling California hardcore but stretched the songs lengthwise to incorporate greater lyrical introspection forHavokand even more attention to melody than on previous efforts. Oscillating between churning verses and intersecting solos and riffs, “The Great Disappointment” is like junior-varsityFugazi, while the heroic emo chord changes of “This Celluloid Dream” transformHavok‘s preening wail into a sensitive croon, and single “Girls Not Grey” is a car-radio singalong of pure genius. It’s true that the anthemic backing vocal choruses of material like “Girls Not Grey” and “Bleed Black” make the songs more pop than hardcore or evenHavok‘s beloved goth. And the distorted synth and drum programming on “Silver and Cold” and “Death of Seasons” is a cheeky production trick that isn’t very successful when married to the songs’ upbeat choruses. But neither the producers nor the band went overboard. Just when the strings, piano, and rainstorm effects threaten to turn Sing the Sorrow into aMy Dying Bridealbum, there is a burst of hardcore like “Dancing Through Sunday” to recall California pioneers of the genre likeDead Kennedysor SST transplantsHsker D. Whatever factions of the band’s longterm fans might think of their major-label affiliation, Sing the Sorrow represents a coalescing of the band’s sound. And that’s fine with AFI. “People have always either hated us or loved us,” guitaristPugettold MTV.com, “And the reactions tend to be pretty extreme on both sides, but the hatred is just as cool because people are actually reacting. It’s either, ‘F*ck those guys,’ or ‘I f*ckin’ love AFI. They rock.’” -All Music Guide