Alkaline Trio Drop Halloween Single “Surprise Surprise” Produced by Travis Barker 

Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiner

Alkaline Trio are marking Halloween in style with the release of their brand-new single, “Surprise Surprise.” The track is the third installment in the band’s current triptych of standalone 7-inch vinyl and digital singles, following “Bleeding Out” and “Oblivion.” Unlike the raw punk energy fans might expect, “Surprise Surprise” showcases one of the most sonically subdued and emotionally vulnerable performances in the band’s long and storied career.

Singer and guitarist Matt Skiba shared the deeply personal inspiration behind the song: “‘Surprise Surprise’ was inspired by and written for a friend of mine who grew up poor and entrenched in gang life, only to become a Navy SEAL and eventually an astronaut. It’s his story, combined with my own thoughts regarding how a sort of alchemy takes place when someone takes the experiences of a bad situation and is able to turn them into something profound and beautiful. The rough sketch of the song had only verse and chorus parts but no bridge which was written by Dan in the studio. This song was the last one of the three we did in this session with Travis Barker and was even more of a collaboration and studio creation than the previous two.”

The single was recorded during Alkaline Trio’s first studio sessions with their current lineup of Skiba, longtime bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano, and drummer Atom Willard, with Travis Barker of Blink-182 producing. Barker described the experience as “magical,” praising Skiba and Andriano as “incredible lyricists” and reflecting on the effortless studio chemistry.

“Recording with Alkaline Trio was such a treat. Bringing these songs to life from the demos Matt recorded was so exciting… I could’ve kept going forever. Really proud of these songs me, Matt, Dan, and Atom recorded,” Barker said.

“Surprise Surprise” is now available on all digital platforms and as a limited edition D2C color vinyl 7-inch via Rise Records, featuring an exclusive demo version on the B-side.