One of the reasons that has attracted major public interest to ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (hereafter referred to as Trail Of Dead) has been their use of dual drumsets. I can think of at least ten different ways you could create awesome drum beats full of complexities with two drumsets, but apparently it is not so obvious on the new Trail Of Dead album "So Divided" as it was on "Worlds Apart".
The drums have a tribal african feel to them most of the time, softly building up to crescendos, that at least on "Wasted State Of Mind", struggle to materialize. But what the album suffers more from is from its inconsistency. "Stand In Silence" and "Wasted State Of Mind" both rock out like some of Disco Ensemble's emo rock anthems, but at the same time "Naked Sun" is a 70s influenced pop song and "Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory" is an unnecessary acoustic song that breaks the flow on the album. The title track, too, leaves you scracthing your head, and "Eight Day Hell" is just a too obvious Beatles rip off to be liked by the reviewer.
Their singer has lost some character in his voice as well. Whereas he used to stretch his vocal chords to the brink of restrained screams on the previous albums, on "So Divided" he rarely extends them even to the longing shouts. It's a shame, really, because the album starts out great, and moments of sheer brilliance are scattered around the album. But since the climax of the album is on track three out of eleven, you tend to just return to the beginning of the album for the goodies, even if the closing song "Sunken Dreams" is an alright atmospheric piece. What "So Divided" needs is songs like "Caterwaul" or "A Classic Art Showcase" with some speed and innovation instead of the wannabe-artsy acoustic interplays the band incorporates on this record. This is easily their worst material to date, and should be avoided.
[3]
Download: Stand In Silence, Wasted State Of Mind
For the fans of: The Beatles, Explosions In The Sky, Architecture In Helsinki
Listen: Myspace
Release date 14.11.2006
Interscope
Related items.
