This Station Is Non-Operational is a compilation album by the El Paso, Texas-based post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released May 24, 2005 by Fearless Records, four years after the band went on indefinite hiatus. Its tracks span the band's career from 1997 to 2000, with selections from El Gran Orgo (1997), In/Casino/Out (1998), Vaya (1999), and Relationship of Command (2000), as well as several rare tracks taken from singles and a previously unreleased cover version of The Smiths' “This Night Has Opened My Eyes”.
Review:
At the Drive-In was: Tony, Jim, Paul, Cedric, and Omar. As accomplished as
they became after ATDI's 2001 split, This Station Is Non-Operational really
makes you miss the focused intensity of the band's salad days. This hits and
rarities retrospective is chronological, moving from “Fahrenheit” and
“Picket Fence Cartel” off 1997's Gran Orgo through to selections from their
2000 swan song Relationship of Command. Remixes, covers, 7" singles, and a BBC
session follow; the guitar tone in their 1998 version of “This Night Has
Opened My Eyes” matches the Smiths' perfectly. There's a great dynamic
between “Chanbara” and “Lopsided,” both from In Casino Out.
“Chanbara” is taut, and full of spirited lyrics and periodic explosions;
it's provides the definition of 1990's post-hardcore. But while “Lopsided”
also has that tension, it's much closer to the austerity and melody of indie
rock. Because of where ATDI went after their breakup – in particular Cedric
Bixler and Omar Rodriguez with the elemental, furiously improvisational the Mars
Volta – it's easy to forget about At the Drive-In's capacity for
convention. Their spectacular live show was a big part of their success. But as
This Station Is Non-Operational continually points out, At the Drive-In wrote
incredible songs, too. Vaya's “198d” is an honest-to-God ballad, and
“Rascuache” (from the same EP) appears here in remix form, a dubby,
electronics-addled version dating from a 1999 7" on Buddyhead/Grand Royal.
“One Armed Scissor” was At the Drive-In's most well-known song;
it's responsible for this anthology's title, and is no less incendiary here.
Other This Station Is Non-Operational standouts:
“Autorelocator”'s hissing, faraway synths, and the appropriately psych
rock cover of Pink Floyd's “Take Up They Stethoscope and Walk” that closes
the set. (This Station Is Non-Operational also included a DVD with videos, a
full discography, and multimedia content.)
All Music Guide – Johnny Loftus