The Rock Blogger

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Festival Thyme EP. 2008. 4.5 stars.

Trail of Dead’s latest EP has effectively slipped under the radar to take me by surprise. This release comes two years after their last LP So Divided and marks a fantastic return to form for these Texan art-rockers. While they are still verging closer to the prog-rock aspirations of Worlds Apart than the raucous noise rock of Source Tags and Codes, they sound far more confident than on their last two records, pumping these 4 songs full of intricate and boisterous melodies. Since this is being released under their own Richter Scale Records imprint, the boys seem to relish in their new found freedom, staking out new sonic territory and abandoning the often restrictive demands of crafting a single - though there are plenty of accessible moments here.

Festival Thyme is, like any other TOD release, grand and climatic, with songs like “Creation Bells” building from soft orchestral chimes to bloody, propulsive crescendos. Those explosive moments may be loud and cathartic, but they also remain in the same shimmering, progressive prism the band has so steadily crafted over the last few years. It seems like all the hard, and often risky work has finally paid off. That delicate balance between alternative rollicking and artful grandeur has finally been struck, as every crashing transition flows beautifully across this EP.

While Conrad Keely’s vocals are still slightly grating in contrast with the gorgeous piano lines and soaring guitars, they are far more restrained than before and seem fitting within the joyous cacophony of this record. This EP has a very uplifting mood to it, especially as it reaches the final, bursting instrumentals of “The Betrayal of Roger Casement & the Irish Brigade” which sounds almost regal with its slamming piano keys, glorious cymbal crashes and electronic mayhem. Festival Thyme may not have the same breakneck, play-like-your-life-depends-on-it urgency as Source Tags and Codes had, but its still an incredibly satisfying listen. It seems as if Trail of Dead have finally moved past the turbulent transition period that hung over their last two albums and are now facing the future with vigor and excitement. I can’t wait for what’s (soon to be) on the way from these guys.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.