''Acrobatic Tenement'' is the debut studio album by American
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...
band
At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums) ...
, released on February 18, 1997, on
Flipside. The album, along with ''
In/Casino/Out'' and ''
Relationship of Command'', was reissued by
Fearless Records
Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...
in 2004, and was re-released again in 2013.
Only one of the album's tracks made it to the 2005
compilation album, ''
This Station Is Non-Operational'', with "Initiation" appearing as a live BBC recording.
Background and recording
The album was initially released on August 18, 1996, exclusively on
CD format through the Los Angeles independent record label/fanzine ''
Flipside'' after a few of the label's staff members were impressed by the band's performance in a small Los Angeles club.
The record was recorded in Los Angeles for only $600 after concluding a U.S. tour.
The album has been noted for its lack of distortion, which is due to the fact that guitarist Jim Ward believed his recordings wouldn't be used for the final master.
Reflecting upon the aftermath of recording ''Acrobatic Tenement'', vocalist
Cedric Bixler stated in 2013: "Before
he album's release
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
the band had broken up. We did a U.S. tour and we decided to split up. I always needed
Jim to be there, but he'd had a falling out with
Omar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
. We'd made a bunch of dumb moves at the time — kicked the drummer
yan Sawyer
Yan may refer to:
Chinese states
* Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty
* Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC
* Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indep ...
who was on the record out, and then the other guitar player
dam Amparan
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
— but then
Tony and
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
came and played. Omar switched to guitar at the time, because he played bass on that album, so when we played live, it was a lot different."
Much of the album, particularly the track "Ebroglio," was inspired by the life and suicide of Julio Venegas, a friend of the band.
Venegas later became the inspiration of
The Mars Volta's 2003 album ''
De-Loused in the Comatorium''.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Cedric Bixler – Lead vocals
*
Jim Ward – Guitar, back-up vocals
*Adam Amparan – Guitar
*
Omar Rodríguez – Bass
*Ryan Sawyer – Drums
References
{{Authority control
1996 debut albums
At the Drive-In albums