...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Lost Songs (Album Review)
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Thursday, 18 October 2012 |
Written by Ben Bland
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There are few guitar bands of the last fifteen years or so that deserve as much praise as the delightfully awkwardly monikered ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. One of those rare bands who steer well clear of recording the same album twice, the Texans are known as much for their fabled live performances as for their studio output. Having said that, 2002’s 'Source Tags & Codes' took their hardcore influenced alt-rock to the very edge of the mainstream and was acclaimed from all sides, and the follow-up, 'Worlds Apart' was also well received.
 Since then, however, things have been a bit underwhelming in the realm of this unusual band. There have always been widescreen elements to their music but, from 2006 to 2011, the band released three records that seemed occasionally uneasy with the great swathe of ideas its creators put forward. Although each had their moments, the hard-hitting nature of the band’s best work seemed to be missing. Perhaps, in that sense then, 'Lost Songs' is a real return to form. Largely ditching the flourishes that have seen the term ‘art rock’ bandied about all over the place, ...Trail of Dead have here produced an album that focuses on the band’s ability to craft punk influenced noise rock more heavily than for some years. If you want this band to make a sound not unlike walking into a thick glass conservatory door, then 'Lost Songs' is probably going to appeal to you.
Whether it genuinely works, however, is another matter. What dogs 'Lost Songs', right from its early phases, is the sense that it is the work of a band who feel that stripping things back a little is the only way to progress, and that is a dangerous conundrum. The results lend themselves to earnestness, if not necessarily the vigorous honesty that the band has so often proven to be masterful at representing.
Disarmingly, 'Open Doors' kicks off the album with a satisfying level of real passion, but the fact that is followed up immediately by something as uncharacteristically irritating as 'Pinhole Cameras' unfortunately sets the tone for a series of disappointments as the album progresses, especially in its second half. Dare one say it but occasionally to these ears it sounds as if ...Trail of Dead are straying towards the meaningless well of political void that Green Day have occupied for the last decade or more, which is strange because everyone who is familiar with ever present co-frontmen Conrad Keely and Jason Reece know how much the pair really do care about what it is they do. For all the occasional inconsistencies of their last few albums, there are few out there who would accuse ...Trail of Dead of having run out of ideas. Their last album, 'Tao of the Dead', ended with a multi-part sixteen minute suite, and marked arguably the most ambitious (if sadly not the most successful) experiment the band have ever conducted.
Of course, the fact that 'Tao of the Dead' came barely a year ago does raise the question as to whether ...Trail of Dead are just working themselves a little too hard. There is a certain energy to this album that has occasionally passed the group by over the last three records, of that there is no doubt, but it sometimes sounds a bit like that energy is what the band feel they need to exude, not the result of how they are actually feeling. The best moments are those in which the band actually sound like they are thinking outside the general limitations they impose on this album, rather than sticking to the slightly tired post-Fugazi box that the likes of 'Bright Young Things' seem to so reluctantly sit in. 'Flower Card Games' and 'Up to Infinity' prove that when ...Trail of Dead still have got the proverbial it, but other tracks suggest that they may have temporarily misplaced it during recording.
Perhaps the well is just running that little bit dry. Half the songs here are vibrant and enjoyable listens, but half seem undercooked and tame. It would be unfair to stop believing in ...Trail of Dead, because they have earned your support, but 'Lost Songs' maybe sounds like the band has begun to stop believing in themselves.
'Lost Songs' is out on Monday 22nd October via Superball Records.
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