The members of indie rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are known for their epic, crazed, rock'n'roll musical rampages. Their fifth album, So Divided, delivers on a little more than half of that reputation.
So Divided isn't exactly sedated. Crashing guitars, big brass-band and accelerating drum rhythms all contribute to controlled chaos ' just a slightly quieter chaos than listeners may be expecting. The group has a reputation for ripping the stage to pieces and destroying their equipment after shows.
The intro, A Song of Fire and Wine
begins with a bell toll and evolves into a clamor of what sounds like a weather broadcast, the clatter of dishes at a dinner table, yelps, applause and shouting. A woman screams, and the band bursts into the rock of Stand in Silence a disappointing, obnoxious pop-punk song with weak lyrics.
Trail of Dead immediately redeems itself with the fantastically dramatic Wasted State of Mind. Vocals drone Caught in a stasis/ Feel like I've wasted all this time/ With people and places never related or desired over pattering piano and rhythm and later, accordion. All this, and Trail of Dead still manages to throw in a chirping bird. Repetition mimics the subject matter perfectly, making this bleak track a highlight of the album.
Another highlight is a Guided by Voices cover, Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory which laces beautiful acoustic guitar and piano parts underneath a soft vocal melody that slowly crescendos.
The rest is a mixed bag. Life crashes along, exploring bitter nostalgia: Now you're out of time/ Life is dry/ You're wondering why. Eight Day Hell bizarrely sounds like The Monkees cheerily informing the listener they're in hell, while Sunken Dreams rings of The Cure.
Riddled with clich+
they are all intricately jammed with samples. The effort is effective, and the experimentation has produced a welcome variety in the Trail of Dead's compositions.
After the commercial disappointment of the band's last album, Worlds Apart, Trail of Dead has produced So Divided, both intricate and experimental. Following a delayed release and Internet leak of the record, it is finally store-ready today. However, whether or not this record pleases or alienates fans is as hard to predict as where Trail of Dead's sound will go next.
17
Archives
Susie Shutts
