File Under: Pop Punk rating: A- tracks 1. Queen Of Pain - Alkaline Trio 2. While Youre Waiting - Alkaline Trio 3. Rooftops - Alkaline Trio 4. Good Deciding - Hot Water Music 5. Russian Roulette - Hot Water Music 6. Radio - Hot Water Music 7. Bleeder - Hot Water Music related links Jade Tree

So Jade Tree is following the footsteps of BYO Records and has a split series going on. Previous tour mates Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music combine their efforts to offer up some new songs and provide some covers of each others. If you have no idea who either of these bands are I pity you and please stop reading now and go out and buy this. I’ll wait.

Okay, for the enlightened, you know what these guys sound like and what to expect so I’ll skip to the chase with the covers. Alkaline Trio does “Rooftops” off of HWM’s No Division. Good cover but the band does nothing to make it their own except for screaming, “SMOKE WEED!” It just sounds like Alkaline Trio covering a Hot Water Music song.

Hot Water Music chose “Radio” and “Bleeder.” The latter is good but dear sweet jeebus the cover of “Radio” is reason enough to buy this album and to put that song on repeat for a few months. HWM doesn’t fuck with the structure or anything but it’s the vocals that easily make the cover and improvement on the original. The dual and dueling voices of HWM give the song a greater level of heart and emotion that Skiba’s sometimes monotone voice just can’t put into the song. One of the best covers to ever come out of punk rock.

This split is so cheap that a nights worth of beer cans recycled should cover it (if you drink like the Trio at least).