Alkaline Trio has appealed to the pop-punk-loving masses for nearly two decades now by finding the midpoint between the macabre themes of The Damned or The Misfits and the hopeless-romanticism of bands like Saves the Day and New Found Glory. Tales of love and woe are what attract many female fans to Alkaline Trio in the first place — just ask any girl with an AT heart-and-skull tattoo about singer Matt Skiba and her voice will probably raise an octave. Skiba and bassist Dan Andriano are this band's vocal Jekyll and Hyde, but neither singer works exclusively good or evil. On the band's latest effort, My Shame Is True, Skiba builds on some darker sentiments, inspired by his recent breakup. He's still on good terms with his ex — she's the girl on the cover — but the album is full of heartache; Skiba described the songwriting process as cathartic. "I just miss you / I want to kiss you to death tonight," Skiba sings in "Kiss You to Death," which harks back to the band's classic love-scorned Good Mourning sound.