Prog-rock, long declared dead and gone, managed to drag its rotten corpse off the morgue slab and stumble back into the music world.
And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead's latest album, Worlds Apart, is a result of this trend.
The musical and lyrical density of Mars Volta's debut album and the sublime, headphone-friendly Secret Machines, provided the defibrillating shock that revived the concept album and the heavily instrumented rant - at least among record companies that hadn't signed a prog-rocker since Pink Floyd was selling out stadiums.
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, a band previously known for its thrashing 2000 album Madonna really shows off its always-present but never-predominant progressive tendencies on Worlds Apart.
The Austin-based band cuts loose on its latest release, which features several single-worthy tracks, a rarity on its previous albums. These almost hummable songs include "Caterwaul," "Let It Dive" and "World's Apart," each of which feature a singular tone and unique layering of the myriad of instruments.
This instrumental diversity required six backup musicians and a sizable choir. Unfortunately the crowding occasionally becomes overwhelming, almost distracting from the musicians' skills.
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Two of the best songs, the title track and the first single, "The Rest Will Follow," highlight the band's lyrical range. The former features harsh cynicism toward MTV and the American dream, while the latter relies on almost-innocent poetics to ask what's wrong with us all.
Even the brief interludes feature something interesting, including chants of the names of Egyptian gods and a 90-second violin solo on "To Russia My Homeland."
Trail of Dead has proven its range. If it can combine the musical tapestry of this album with the frenetic energy of its earlier work, it might make 1970s prog-rock vital again.
Worlds Apart
And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
Grade: B
