Alkaline Trio Release Travis Barker-Produced New Single Oblivion
Friday, 18 July 2025
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Jonathan Weiner
Alkaline Trio have returned with a new single.
The first of three songs recently recorded alongside producer Travis Barker of Blink-182, Oblivion finds the Chicago punk-rock veterans firing on all cylinders, combining punchy verses and a hooky, melodic chorus.
It also marks the trio's first recording with drummer Atom Willard, who has been playing with the band for the best part of the last two years, replacing Derek Grant who departed in 2023 after 22 years. Guitarist-vocalist Matt Skiba commented:
"I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great time in the studio. We'd wanted to get into the studio with Atom as soon as he’d joined the band and we finally found the time to do it. The idea to work with Travis came to me after guesting on a project he was producing at his studio. I was blown away by how natural and amazing Travis is in the role of a producer and by the beauty and serenity of his studio.
"We had initially gone in thinking we would do a cover we’d been playing with, to take the pressure off of our first recording with Atom, but ended up with three new songs. I already knew how great Travis is in the studio (from my time with Blink), beyond his great drumming and unique and out-of-the-box songwriting abilities. His vision and talent is the perfect fit for us. I am a drummer at heart so having Atom and Travis working in tandem as drummers and songwriters was absolute heaven for me. Working with two of my favourite drummers was surreal and dreamlike, never mind two of my favourite people in the world. I told Travis that it really feels like he is our fourth member on this."
Barker said: "Recording with Alkaline Trio was such a treat. Bringing these songs to life from the demos Matt recorded was so exciting. Both Matt and Dan are incredible lyricists, two of my all-time favourites. The studio never feels like work, just a magical place to create. The process was so natural and easy, I could’ve kept going forever. Really proud of these songs me, Matt, Dan, and Atom recorded. Excited for what’s ahead for Alkaline Trio and for fans to hear these special songs we made."
Bassist-vocalist Andriano added: "We went into the studio thinking we’d record one new song and maybe a cover as well, ended up tracking THREE new Alkaline Trio originals! Matt’s been on fire lately, between him having so many good ideas and Travis being so easy and cool to work with we could’ve stayed in there forever.
"It’s always exciting when working with a producer for the first time, but Travis really blew us all away. He had so many cool and thoughtful ideas for all aspects of the tunes, from structure and writing suggestions to mix ideas… it was awesome. I have a feeling we might just do this again!"
On his first recording session with the band, Willard said: "For me, recording that week was like being 20 years old again. Going into the studio not knowing exactly what we were going to be doing or working on made it super fun and exciting. Collaborating on all parts of these songs was really fun and inspiring. I feel like we could have just kept going and going the way everything was coming together so readily."
Alkaline Trio released their most recent album, and their last full-length with Grant, 'Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs', in 2024.
They'll join Blink-182 on their US tour in August and September, and play a handful of headline shows along the way. Tickets are on sale now.
Alkaline Trio Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Sat August 30 2025 - JACKSONVILLE Florida - FIVE (USA)
Fri September 12 2025 - ALLENTOWN Pennsylvania - Archer Music Hall (USA)
Mon September 29 2025 - BOULDER Colorado - Boulder Theater (USA)
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