Despite a misleadingly inspired name, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, the band falls short of delivering anything inspiring with their latest release, "So Divided."
AYWKUBTTOD proffer recycled emo-pop-punk in post-metal-core packaging. Major-tonic, Epiphone power chords accompany whiny vocals and simple drum lines. Jimmy Eat World wrote these same songs years ago, it's nothing new.
With repeating phrases and recurring imagery, "So Divided" ambitiously attempts to be a concept album. As the title anticipates, the record is about contradictions in the world.
However, the theme of duality is not focused enough to warrant an entire album, and the idea is scattered and inconsistent throughout.
Though, some of the lyrics are not that bad. In "Wasted State of Mind" vocalist Conrad Keely sings about the jaded life of a touring musician, an existence glamorized from afar.
"Caught in a stasis, feel like I've wasted all this time / With people and places who've never related or desired," Keely sings.
The heavily orchestrated segue way between songs offers a silver lining to the cloud-covered soundscape. The string interludes are creative and arranged well, evidencing quality musicianship and serving as a much needed counterpoint to the mediocre rock outs.
The introduction track, "A Song of Fire and Wine," sounds like people partying with a chamber melody in the background. Soon the cheering is indistinguishable from voices screaming in agony. This disturbing twist kicks off the three-chord riff of "Stand in Silence," which, in relation to the set-up, is a let down.
The pretense of a concept album drags down the quality of the songs. Despite its eleven tracks, "So Divided" features only about a dozen rock riffs, carried out ad nauseam.
Contributing to the air of unoriginality, AYWKUBTTOD's influences are painfully apparent. The rackety-rollercoaster guitar clatter on the close-out, "Sunken Dreams," sounded better the first time around when Radiohead threw it on their own concept album and called it "Optimistic." And the addition of a Guided by Voices cover song is a welcome changeup, but seems out of place.
The nuanced transitions and overall structure nearly salvages the group's redundant sound and misleading package, but fails to redeem the product.
Imagine arriving in Hell only to find that it is merely a nonstop Blink 182 concert. This experience is tantamount to popping "So Divided" into a CD player. Sure, it's painful, but it's also a specious rip-off. Why does a band called Trail of Dead play emo instead of metal, anyway?
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
