…And You Will Know Us
by the Trail of Dead
IX
17 October 2014
Superball Music
3.5 stars out of 5
Released in Europe a month ago but only available on their
home continent now, IX is, as the
title would suggest, the ninth LP by Austin’s …And You Will Die Before You Can
Ever Finish Saying This Band’s Name. If you haven’t been paying attention since
the band’s 2002 noisy post-punk classic Source
Tags & Codes, don’t fret, as nothing much has changed. Their frantic
and wild performances through a haze of smoke and distortion are still potent,
although perhaps less urgent now, and their almost classical melodic sense (“How
to Avoid Huge Ships” seems like a Phillip Glass composition for rock instruments)
remain intact, if somehow less exciting now as it was twelve years ago.
IX features some
very strong additions to ToD’s repertoire, such as the blistering opener “The
Doomsday Book,” and the meandering but powerful “Lost in the Grand Scheme.” While
no longer at the vanguard of indie rock (is there even such a thing still in
2014?), the band is still capable of writing some ear-splitting tuneage for
those who like high-brow literary references and extended philosophical
conceits in their mosh pit fodder. While not their best album, IX is still a well crafted document of
the work of a band that is highly skilled in balancing intellectual high art
and accessible rock and roll.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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