…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead : Century of Self

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/trailofdeadcenturyofself.jpg" alt=" " />These veterans return<em>-ish</em> to their grand indie-punk on their post-major label release.<br />...
7.2 Justice
2009 

...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead : Century of Self…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead have been going on for a long time now – too long?  After two indie releases in the late nineties, Trail of Dead signed to Interscope and released the critically-acclaimed Source Tags & Codes in 2002, seemingly establishing themselves as one of the big alt-to-mainstream bands for the new millennium.  But then… something happened, or rather didn’t happen.  The decline and backlash with their following two LP’s, Worlds Apart and So Divided, was nowhere near Strokes-level, and the band never broke up (despite being formed around the seemingly made-for-combustion ‘pair of multi-instrumentalists’, singer/guitarist/drummers Conrad Keely and Jason Reece), but they also never broke through completely, either, going from headlining festivals like New York’s Siren (QRO 2008 festival recap) a five years ago to just playing during the day at their own hometown of Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest last year (QRO festival recap).  Their contract with Interscope ended, but instead of calling it quits, Trail of Dead entered the studio without a label and produced Century of Self, a return to style if not form that will likely please their loyalists if not reach out to new fans.

With many double- or even triple-duty members giving the band two lead singers, three guitarists, three pianists, and even three drummers, Trail of Dead has always had a bigger sound than your run-of-the-mill indie-rock outfit.  At their heights, they seemed to reach those actual heights with their music, even if they were never sure if they were alternative or punk.  But the major label days did wear on their core, leaving them a bit hollow.  Century of Self doesn’t completely fix that in its return to outright indie-punk grandeur, being a mixture of epic numbers with meaning, and those without.  The grand uproar intro “Giants Causeway” that opens Century epitomizes the latter, and quite a few more of its thirteen tracks are big and unremarkable, solid but not spectacular.

However, Century is a record that benefits from repeated spins, as once one acclimates to Trail of Dead’s epic nature, those pieces with something more to them begin to stand out.  Most notable are the pressing ones, like “Isis Unveiled” and “Halcyon Days” (though these back-to-back early numbers both play on far too long, at about six-and-a-half minutes each, with a stop/start quiet/loud middle that makes each seem like two songs on one track), reaching anthemistic power on “Fields of Coal” and “Ascending”.

Even if …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead never became the ‘saviors of indie-rock’ that they were told they were supposed to be, they still developed a loyal core following who saw them through the backlash and dashing of over-high expectations.  And those fans are ready to be rewarded, and will be as the band plays directly to them on Century of Self.

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