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...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD: SO DIVIDED |
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Tuesday, 10 October 2006 |
 …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
“SO DIVIDED” LP
RELEASED 13TH NOVEMBER 2006 (Polydor/Interscope)
DIVISION OF LABOUR: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
AND WHAT WE CAN TELL YOU
Some facts and un-facts, tits and tats about
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
Call: Who are these guys?
Response: Trail Of Dead is comprised of five individuals. Vocalist/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Conrad Keely and vocalist/guitarist/occasional drummer Jason Reece are the co- founders of the group. Guitarist Kevin Allen, bassist Danny Wood and drummer/percussionist Doni Schroader round out the group and are all instrumental (yar har) in its recorded and performing operations as a musical unit (some say juggernaut.)
Pitch: What have they done?
Swing: The group has released a total of four full-length albums, some even to great acclaim. The last two, World’s Apart and Source Tags and Codes have been released on Interscope records and lots of people seemed to like them, especially literary types and fans of rock music. Rolling Stone called World’s Apart “a heroic monster of an album” and Q hailed it a “triumph”, giving it 4 stars. You can Google the rest of them and let us know the results. We are especially curious to see what comes up when you enter “Madonna” and “Dead”.
Question: What have they done (for me) lately?
Answer: For starters, the band linked up with their longtime collaborator and producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Sound Team) at his studio in Texas in spring/summer this year to commit to tape the myriad of wonderful sounds you will hear on So Divided. They also toured lots around the US and Europe, with performances on The Late Show With David Letterman, Lollapalooza and the Sasquatch Festival being some highlights. Also, Jason helped to launch the Austin branch of the renowned watering hole Beauty Bar and Conrad came up with the artwork and creative direction for the album’s cover art and booklet.
You Ask: What are they on about?
We Say: Trail Of Dead are dedicated to portraying a holistic and at times uncomfortably honest expression of the human experience. Within that experience, things happen that are joyous and defeating, pathetic and unfair, lucky and unlucky. If you’re still reading, you know this all to be true, so you can see how universal the “big things” really are, especially when they are set to a beat. Just listen to Chuck Berry.
Point: So what’s the point of this new record? Entertain us!
Counterpoint: Trail Of Dead hope to do that, however the goal of So Divided is not exclusively to entertain. If you were to substitute the word “entertain” with “reveal”, you would get a more realistic (or is it less realistic?) idea of what the group were looking to accomplish with these songs.
Query: These sounds?! Where do they come from?
Reply: Trail Of Dead look to a variety of internal and external, musical and non-musical sources for inspiration. But to put the whole thing in more manageable terms, you will hear guitars, strings, timpani drums, acoustic guitars, piano, bass, slide guitar, keyboards, samplers, synthesizers, violins (played by Grammy winner Hilary Hahn) and backup vocals (by Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls) on So Divided’s nine tracks.
Tell me: Do they take requests?
We’ll tell ya: No, but they do a shimmering cover of Guided by Voices’ “Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory” replete with pianos, brushed cymbals and strings—very beautiful stuff.
So: I’m sold. Where can I look to get more Trail Of Dead in my life?
Dig it: The band will be releasing So Divided on Polydor / Interscope Records on 13th November. Immediately thereafter, they will be embarking on a two-month tour of the US with the Blood Brothers with European dates to be scheduled for the very start of 2007.
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