And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead
The Century of Self
Richter Scale/Justice Records
By Tim Letteney
Can you call a band's rise to prominence and subsequent failure to attain mainstream success a return to form? Austin's And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead seeks the answer to that question. The band’s 6th album The Century of Self can be viewed through many lenses. Is the band trying to reclaim a sound they so readily mutated for mainstream success? Is the fact that the production budget for this album is one third of the past album limiting the band and forcing them to do more with less? Or perhaps the band is once again getting comfortable with themselves, their sound, and their direction because for once, they aren't being bogged down with expectations of their critics.
For the uninitiated, Trail's third album Source Tags and Codes and their first with Interscope was pretty much praised as the first coming of hipster Jesus, unfairly so. It was a solid album, but as online critics often do, they heaped on the hyperbole and just about everyone at the time followed suit. Word of the band spread quickly and they were heralded as the mangled child of Sonic Youth and Fugazi. Following the great response to Source Tags and Codes, Trail entered the studio and the mutation began. Fueled by grandiose expectations of mainstream success and perhaps an inflated sense of self, TOD composed Worlds Apart. This album took the garage prog rock sound they were known for and jacked it up with the sheen of studio production, complete with overdubs, chanting, sleigh bells and bird sounds. Lead singer Conrad Keely's vision went unchecked, as the album's hearty budget allowed for his god sized whims to be catered to. It was clearly ambitious, but a misfire none the less.
The audience didn't feel that the album delivered on the promise made by Source Tags and Codes, so out came the fire and scathing Pitchfork review. The band was viewed as vying for commercial success, betraying their fan base and selling their soul. Their follow up So Divided came across as nothing more than an ambivalent and morose hodgepodge. There are some strong cuts on the album but it's built more for iTunes sales than for listening from start to finish. Through these two albums the main conflict was the bands visible struggle with wanting to be commercially viable while still retaining some sort of sense of self. It's this struggle that perked many pens and many articles. I hope that you, the reader have not invested yourself in the many recounts of trials and tribulations of the band, because Selfis a unique album that deserves to be judged upon its own merit, not previous labels that have been adhered to the artists by online critics. The album is rife with personal reflection and the stripped down production and grandiose crescendo that initially gained the group so much attention. These boys from Austin are back, sonically and mentally sounder than ever.
The album opens unsurprisingly with an instrumental, "Giants Causeway." This track correctly sets the tone of the album. The decreased budget becomes immediately evident, what once would have been ostentatious orchestration has now been supplanted by thin sounding keyboards. This is a great example of budgetary constraints limiting Conrad's scope, and the song is better for it. This intro comes across as epic, but not contrived, which is one of the main struggles of the album and the band as a whole. The track shows the listener that the album is to be taken as one piece, not just the sum of its parts, which is a welcome relief after So Divided.
The album abruptly jumps into "Far Pavilions," a classic sounding pop punk song reminiscent of the Madonna era. Here we have Conrad using his past as a catalyst for the song. This reflection fuels the track as He and Jason Reece trade verses back and forth. It embraces distortion and their indie rock roots. Then what becomes an ongoing motif in the album we get our first musical interlude, complete with a chorus and piano that sounds like church bells. This break leads the song astray. As the interlude reaches its crescendo the listener is reminded more of the falling action of A Christmas Carol than the return of And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead. Sadly, this portion of the song comes across as operatic, staged and a little forced. There is no obvious thematic reason for the interlude and it hurts the impact of the song. Luckily it doesn't last long and the reprise brings the song right back where it belongs.
The next song, "Isis Unveiled" is without a doubt one of the strongest cuts on the album. It opens with a soaring guitar riff that sounds unlike anything the band has done previously. It shows a confidence and finesse that makes them sound vital and relevant again. The band is attempting to reclaim the indie rock mantle that propelled them to notoriety and they succeed gracefully. Structurally "Isis" has a lot in common with "Pavilions," but here the interlude is infectious and it works. Conrad's epic sensibilities are why The Century of Self is occasionally a hit or miss affair. The hits far outweigh the misses and when it hits like it does here, it hits big. Songs like "Bells of Creation" and "Inland Sea" are not just high points on the album, but standouts throughout their catalog.
After six albums and just about everything the music industry could throw at them,And You Will know Us by the Trail of Dead, against all odds, are still together, and more importantly still making music that sounds inspired. The Century of Self's diminished budget allows the soundscapes to stretch beyond their means creating a raw dynamic that is of great benefit to the band's style. It may sound a bit like they are painting a landscapes with a hammer, or perhaps drawing a portrait with a Bic pen (see also: The cover of the album) but it's this stress on the tools that makes the music created so pure and fierce. This is not a reprise of Source Tags and Codes, nor is it an apology for Worlds Apart. The Century of Self is a product of the band reflecting on the long journey they have had up until this point. Now that they have finished looking to the past, one hopes that their feet are firmly planted and looking toward the future. They have managed to successfully ignite our interest again; just like they did all those years ago with Source Tags...luckily we are all a little bit older and a little bit wiser now.
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