...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. |
The Century of Self
Prog rock will never die! Echoes of Yes,
The Who and a soaring indie rock opera, Trail of Dead have definitely
gone over the "big" sound precipice with this album. With waves
of crashing sound and tinkling pianos, they've advanced the
concept of a concept album to somehow mine memories of TRON
and The
Last Starfighter on songs like "Isis Unveiled" (although
that's only in my head). So, it's certainly not as pop as their
last album, nor as rockin' as their earlier stuff. I think this
is a band in transition that will find itself in a weird place
coming out the other side. I smell an album of Broadway tunes
and sea shanties on the horizon. |
Festival Thyme
|
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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