Alkaline Trio Share Travis Barker-Produced New Single Surprise Surprise
Friday, 31 October 2025
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Jonathan Weiner
Alkaline Trio have shared a new single, Surprise Surprise.
Continuing the dark, gothic-tinged punk aesthetic the Chicago trio have embraced on previous singles Bleeding Out and Oblivion, it's the final of three songs the band recently recorded with Blink-182 drummer and producer Travis Barker.
The sessions are their first with the current line-up of founding guitarist-vocalist Matt Skiba, long-time bassist-vocalist Dan Andriano, and drummer Atom Willard, who joined following Derek Grant's departure in 2023 after 22 years with the band. Skiba said:
"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."
Barker commented: "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."
Alkaline Trio recently wrapped up a North American tour supporting Blink-182. They put out their most recent album, and their last full-length with Grant, 'Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs', in 2024.
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