Five years and some months ago, At the Drive-In reignited their career at Red 7, a beloved Austin venue which sadly no longer exists. The secret show, their first in eleven years, was announced literally the moment tickets went on sale, sold out within moments, and became a local legend for those who attended. Every bit of the fire was still alive within the reunited group, who ripped through their classic catalog with perfect showmanship. Red 7, from then till their demise, purchase, and rebranding as Barracuda, even used an image of frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala swinging from the stage rafters as their Facebook profile photo. That picture alone served as a summation of what took place that night.
Then, following that 2012 reunion tour, ATDI disappeared back into the ether. Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s offshoot band The Mars Volta broke up the next year and most assumed they were done working with each other. An eventual reemergence with new band Antemasque saw the duo return to their punk roots. That sign of life eventually led to a full fledged At the Drive-In reunion once again early last year, this time subbing out guitarist/singer Jim Ward for his Sparta bandmate Keeley Davis. This time Bixler-Zavala called the reunion a “reactivation” and promised new music.
That new music arrived earlier this year as the album Inter Alia and Wednesday, June 7th saw the rejuvenated project returning to Austin, this time as a full time, active recording project rather than a nostalgia act.
Immediately the band sought to define the differences between that first reunion show in 2012 and this latest date. Of the first seven songs played, five were from Inter Alia. Fuck your nostalgia – this is a current band with new music to give to the world. Inter Alia’s songs may, as a matter of fact, be some of At the Drive-In’s most ambitious and strongest work to date, and their live debuts for Austinites did not disappoint. Embellishments and jams saw the band working through their new material with a vigor and appreciation for the life of the songs, while the audience remained engaged, despite knowing few lyrics to sing along to.
ATDI’s full return is a markedly different affair than their original run or even their 2012 reunion. For one thing, Bixler-Zavala’s voice is noticeably different. His screaming ability was on the decline even in 2012, and has now developed into a nasal punk bark. That’s okay, because it suits the new material well, but he struggled mightily with high notes on older songs.
Secondly, the absence of Jim Ward is particularly impactful, in both positive and negative ways. His backing vocals are greatly missed, and Rodriguez-Lopez and Davis’ admirable attempts to replicate them could never serve to match the real thing. On the other hand, Ward’s absence allowed the remaining members to stretch their legs and jam out both new and old songs in a way reminiscent of their former band Mars Volta. This wasn’t something at which Ward was adept. Some songs even seemed to transform into bizarre, yet wonderful, Mars Volta/At the Drive-In hybrids, particularly classics “Enfilade” and “Invalid Litter Dept.” from their seminal Relationship of Command album and new song “Ghost Tape No. 9.”
Overall, this new At the Drive-In is largely a different, more mature, more experienced band than their original counterpart. If their 2012 performances represented a recapturing of their former magic, this was a reinvention of their magic; a new type of magic altogether. Consider the new At the Drive-In essentially a whole new band. In many ways, in their style and sound, they are. But if they were to truly just be starting out, this would be one of the most potent, important new acts to catch. Consider this the hottest debut on the touring circuit at the moment. The all new At the Drive-In is coming for you, teeth bared. As the opener of Inter Alia goes, there is truly “no wolf like the present.”
Photo by Merrick Ales via Stubb’s BBQ
