Acrobatic Tenement
Acrobatic Tenement is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on February 18, 1997, on Flipside.[5] The album, along with In/Casino/Out and Relationship of Command, was reissued by Fearless Records in 2004, and was re-released again in 2013.
| Acrobatic Tenement | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|  | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 18, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | Late July, 1996 | |||
| Studio | Commercial Soundworks (Hollywood, California) | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore, emo | |||
| Length | 32:20 | |||
| Label | Flipside | |||
| Producer | Blaze James, Doug Green | |||
| At the Drive-In chronology | ||||
| 
 | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic |      [1] | 
| Consequence of Sound | C+ [2] | 
| Drowned in Sound | 10/10 [3] | 
| Pitchfork | 6.5/10[4] | 
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.[6] The record was recorded in Los Angeles for only $600 after concluding a U.S. tour.[3] 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.[7] Reflecting upon the aftermath of recording Acrobatic Tenement, vocalist Cedric Bixler stated in 2013: "Before [the album's release], 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. We'd made a bunch of dumb moves at the time — kicked the drummer [Ryan Sawyer] who was on the record out, and then the other guitar player [Adam Amparan] — but then Tony and Paul 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."[8]
Much of the album, particularly the track "Ebroglio," was inspired by the life and suicide of Julio Venegas, a friend of the band.[9] Venegas later became the inspiration of The Mars Volta's 2003 album De-Loused in the Comatorium.
Track listing
    
| No. | Title | Length | 
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Star Slight" | 1:18 | 
| 2. | "Schaffino" | 2:49 | 
| 3. | "Ebroglio" | 2:47 | 
| 4. | "Initiation" | 3:26 | 
| 5. | "Communication Drive-In" | 1:44 | 
| 6. | "Skips on the Record" | 3:07 | 
| 7. | "Paid Vacation Time" | 3:33 | 
| 8. | "Ticklish" | 4:35 | 
| 9. | "Blue Tag" | 3:17 | 
| 10. | "Coating of Arms" | 2:46 | 
| 11. | "Porfirio Diaz" | 2:58 | 
| Total length: | 32:20 | |
Personnel
    
- Cedric Bixler – Lead vocals
- Jim Ward – Guitar, back-up vocals
- Adam Amparan – Guitar
- Omar Rodríguez – Bass
- Ryan Sawyer – Drums
References
    
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/r350159
- Bray, Ryan (7 March 2013). "At The Drive-In – Acrobatic Tenement [Reissue]". consequence.net. Consequence Of Sound. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- Tarry, Lucy. "Album Review: At The Drive-In Acrobatic Tenement". drownedinsound.com. Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2002-07-03.
- Cohen, Ian. "Double Review of Acrobatic Tenement and Relationship Of Command". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- "At the Drive-in". Archived from the original on 2000-04-22. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
- DaRonco, Mike. "All Music Guide Biography". allmusic.com. All Music Guide. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
- Cepeda, Eddie (2017-06-14) (14 June 2017). "At the Drive-In's 'El Gran Orgo' EP Captured a Band Struggling to Survive". noisey.vice.com. Vice. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
- "Cedric Bixler-Zavala Talks At the Drive-In Reissues, His Real Mars Volta Role". April 24, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- Diaconescu, Sorina (26 June 2003). "Secrets Of The Sun". laweekly.com. LA Weekly. Retrieved 2003-07-26.