Arriving as the second preview of the group’s tenth full-length album, Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs, scheduled for release on January 26, 2024, via Rise Records, Alkaline Trio has unveiled their romanticized punk ballad “Bad Time.”
“‘Bad Time’ was initially inspired by a friend and crush who happened to call me while I was on tour in El Paso, Texas, as an active shooter situation was happening just across from where we were staying,” vocalist Matt Skiba explains of the release.
He continues, “We could hear gunshots and sirens as the situation escalated. My friend asked if it was a bad time to talk, and I said no—I really wanted to speak with her. It was actually a terrible and terrifying time, but it was never a bad time to hear her voice. The second verse goes back to a time in Chicago when my roommate Bobby and I were almost killed in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting—high as kites on mushrooms. We lived in a neighborhood run by Latin Kings at the time of the shooting, so I referenced those facts as well as how nice it would have been to hear from the same girl back then.”
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Despite the serious context of the track, “Bad Time” serves as a canvas in which Alkaline Trio’s quintessential attitude and raw emotion radiates while delivering a powerful punch from the first note to the final. As the song unfolds, Skiba envelopes listeners with an intense feeling of longing through the lyrics, “I answered from a drive by/Told you it’s a bad time/But I can talk/No, I really want to talk to you.” Check out the Ravi Dhar-directed “Bad Time” below.
Of the group’s forthcoming album, Skiba previously shared, “My mom worked for years as an emergency room nurse. She and her co-workers referred to exceptionally busy nights as ‘blood, hair, and eyeballs.’ Well, we’ve been busy making an exceptional record we refer to as Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs, too.”
“We approached this new record in completely new ways,” he continues. “We built the songs together, from the ground up, in the same room, which hasn’t happened since the band started. Usually, we start with an idea somebody’s already written. This time, we had the unique opportunity to build the songs onto drums recorded at Studio 606 onto two-inch tape using one of the most beautiful-sounding and legendary consoles in rock. It has almost everything to do with how our new record sounds.”
Following the release of the trio’s January 2024 album, AK3 will embark on an extensive, 28-date tour with Drug Church acting as support. The Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs Tour will kick off in Anaheim, CA, on February 22, stop in the group’s hometown of Chicago, IL, on March 16, and conclude on March 30 in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets for the tour can be purchased here.
Tour Dates:
- Feb. 22—Anaheim, CA @ HOB Anaheim
- Feb. 23—San Diego, CA @ SOMA
- Feb. 24—Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
- Feb. 26—Dallas, TX @ HOB Dallas
- Feb. 27—Austin, TX @ Stubbs
- Feb. 28—Houston, TX @ HOB Houston
- March 1—Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
- March 2—Orlando, FL @ HOB Orlando
- March 3—Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore Charlotte
- March 5—Washington, DC @ Fillmore Silver Spring
- March 6—Philadelphia, PA @ Fillmore Philadelphia
- March 8—Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater and Ballroom
- March 9—Queens, NY @ Knockdown Center
- March 10—Boston, MA @ HOB Boston
- March 12—Toronto, ON @ History
- March 13—Montreal, QC @ Beanfield
- March 15—Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
- March 16—Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
- March 17—St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
- March 18—Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore Minneapolis
- March 20—Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
- March 21—Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
- March 23—Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
- March 24—Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
- March 25—Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
- March 27—San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
- March 29—Los Angeles, CA @ Novo
- March 30—Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas