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...And
You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
[and
you will know us by the trail of dead website]
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail
of Dead
Their songs sound like a chopper lifting
off. You know you're in for this aural assault when the lead
track is called "Richter Scale Madness" and sounds just like
it. Any thought that this is going to be a normal rock album
is thrown out the window with the eight minute second track,
"Novena Without Faith," which builds and then retreats, and
builds and retreats, while singers whisper and scream unintelligible
lyrics under the din. What the album lacks in melody, it makes
up for in intensity. The drummer sounds as if his arms might
fly from his body in fountains of blood, he smacks the skins
so damn hard. This isn't necessarily an album that you might
want to listen to on a regular basis, but it certainly serves
as a solid foundation for a band that grows with each LP. |
Madonna
Just listening to the beginning of the
album's real first cut, "Mistakes & Regrets," one might
think these guys have mellowed on their sophomore release,
but, as it turns out, they haven't mellowed, just matured.
Things are tightened up and more focus is placed on lyrics,
vocals and melody on this release, but the pounding drums
and deconstructed songs still remain. That means more variation
and even a breathe every once in a while. There's just more
to connect with on this album, more to hold onto in terms
of overall memorable tunes. Listening to this album
in tandem with their debut and the follow up, Source Tags
& Codes, their career arc is very clear. This is
a huge step up from their first, and a perfect starting point
into the masterpiece that is their third album. |
The Secret of Elena's Tomb
A softer, gentler Trail of Dead? God help
us all. Lord knows what this means for the future of the band
in terms of mood and direction. Through the five tracks, it's
hard to get a sense of where they'll go next, although it
seems like they're certainly heading more into the weird emo
realm that everyone cringes at these days. Tracks like "Counting
Off the Days" seems to almost be pandering to the Dashboard
Confessional crowd (as scary as that may be), but other
good tracks, such as "All Saints Day" seems to at least follow
a logical progression from Source Tags & Codes
into a more accessible sound, but one that doesn't stray from
their core music. The third track, "Crowning of a Heart" also
keeps in touch with their last album, taking the other
path. It's as if they took one of the songs from Source
Tags & Codes, and split it in half, diverging one
way in one song, and the other way on the next. Let's
hope they stick to one of these paths and don't go spiraling
off into whiny hell. |
Source Tags & Codes
If you've ever seen the Richard Linklater
film Slacker, you'd think everyone from Austin was a wandering
zombie with Madonna's pubic hair in a jar. Anyway, nothing
could be further from the truth. Despite the Texas lineage
and the world's longest band name, Trail of Dead has made
what is one of the best albums to come out in quite a while.
This, their third album, is beyond typical description. This
album deconstructs rock music, breaking it down and then building
it up again through swirling melodies, time changes and even
some string flourishes. Each listen reveals more and more
layers of sound, intricate melodies and just plain rocking
guitar and amazing drumming. Unfortunately this album is being
released by a major label (Interscope) that will, no doubt,
screw things up for the band and get what should be the album
of the year lost in the R&B and testosterone rock shuffle.
Such a shame. |
Worlds Apart
Hey, fuck you man! So starts the third
track on Worlds Apart. I know this album got slammed
by critics and fans, but there are always going to be naysayers
when a band tries to actually write some more melodic tunes.
Oh no, they're listenable! Sure, it's not the intense and
fucked listen that their other stuff is, but it's operatic
and big and ambitious. And, I for one like a little drama
in my music. There's a stretch of four or five tracks in there
that are some of the best songs going. Sooooory for trying
to do something a little different! Really, though, this is
a good rock album, so f' all y'all out there that are down
on this thing. I like it, dammit. After all, every band needs
to have its Mr. Roboto. |
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