Worlds Apart [Deluxe Edition]

• Artist: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
• Rating:
• Release Date: January 25, 2005
• Type: Contains explicit content
• Genre: Rock

Review

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have always been an ambitious, and difficult to place, band. They're too earnest and fond of grand gestures to fit in with most of the indie rock world, but too arty and obscure to jell with most emo's heart-on-sleeve directness. On Worlds Apart, they remain hard to classify, except on their own terms. Though the Trail of Dead sound as angry, regretful, and hopeful as they did when they started, this is a much more polished album than their breakthrough, Source Tags & Codes, and their fiery sound is tempered by nods to '70s prog and album rock. The band deserves some credit for attempting to work on such a grand scale -- it's all too easy for this kind of big, passionate statement to fall on its face -- but while Worlds Apart doesn't work entirely, enough of it is compelling. Granted, it doesn't have the most promising beginning: "Ode to Isis," with its Wagnerian choral vocals, pianos, violins, screaming, and crying, is equally worrying and intriguing, and "Will You Smile Again?" doesn't really take off until the six-and-a-half-minute mark. However, the next four tracks rank among the Trail of Dead's best work: despite railing against vacuous celebrities, soccer moms, indie rock, and, of course, post-9/11 fallout and the war on terrorism, the emotions behind "Worlds Apart" are timeless; along with the frustrated idealism of "The Rest Will Follow," it's one of the band's finest anthems. "The Summer of '91"'s thundering timpani rolls and slow-building majesty use Worlds Apart's massive-sounding productions and arrangements artfully; it's been a long time -- possibly since Smashing Pumpkins' heyday -- since a band has attempted this kind of epic-scale, orchestrated rock. Speaking of the Pumpkins, "Caterwaul"'s beautifully droning guitar grind is more than a little reminiscent of that band's best rockers. Worlds Apart's second half dives deeper into prog: "A Classic Arts Showcase" and "All White" both feature soulful choirs that sound like they were transplanted directly from The Wall, but while they feel tacked onto the former song, they fit -- in a retro kind of way -- the latter song's excesses. "To Russia My Homeland," a theatrical, string-based waltz, isn't bad at all, although it seems more suited to a soundtrack than this album. It's tempting to want to hear some of these songs, particularly "The Best" and "Lost City of Refuge," delivered in a less grandiose manner, but the band's attack on complacency extends to its own music, and Worlds Apart scores points for not having merely revisited previous successes. [Worlds Apart was also released with a bonus DVD featuring the music video "All Saints' Day"; home videos of the band recording the album and on tour; a 14-page essay by Conrad Keely on the (de)evolution of music; and a gallery of Keely's sketches.] ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Ode to Isis	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(1:16)
Will You Smile Again?	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(6:50)
Worlds Apart	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(2:55)
The Summer of '91	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(3:12)
The Rest Will Follow	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(3:20)
Caterwaul	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, James Olsen	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(4:52)
A Classic Arts Showcase	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(5:47)
Let It Dive	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(4:45)
To Russia My Homeland	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(1:25)
All White	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(1:49)
The Best	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, James Olsen	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(4:47)
The Lost City of Refuge	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, James Olsen	...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead	(3:50)

Credits

Mike McCarthy (Producer), Conrad Keely (Artwork), Cyril VanDerHagen (Cover Painting), ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (Producer), Anja Wood (Cello), Sophia Ramos (Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part), Neil Busch (Bass), John Painter (Arranger), Jim Dollentine (Engineer), Joan Wasser (Violin), James Olsen (Vocals (Background)), Chapman Baehler (Photography), Antoine Silverman (Violin), James Olsen (Portraits), Yohei Goto (Engineer), Jason Reece (Group Member), Jane Scarpantoni (Cello), Hardy J. Janson (Bass), Joel Nesvadba (Baritone (Vocal)), John Painter (Conductor), Conrad Keely (Design), Catherine Davis (Conductor), Doni Schroader (Drums), Anne Misner (Soprano (Vocal)), Lester C. Chiu (Bass), John Painter (Horn), Mike McCarthy (Mixing), Jeffrey Ryan Lipstein (Percussion), David Gold (Viola), Herb Kane (Artwork), Brent Baldwin (Baritone (Vocal)), Jonathan Nesvadba (Tenor (Vocal)), Kevin Allen (Group Member), Maxim Moston (Violin), Catherine Davis (Arranger), Karen Neal (Alto), Conrad Keely (Group Member), Doni Schroader (Percussion), Heidi Hock (Soprano), Ted Jensen (Mastering), Joel Nesvadba (Bass (Vocal)), Hilary Hahn (Violin), Brent Baldwin (Tenor (Vocal)), Mike McCarthy (Engineer), Catherine Davis (Soprano (Vocal)), Joe Pointer (Tenor (Vocal)), Dylan Ely (Engineer), Sophia Ramos (Vocals (Background)), Conrad Keely (Calligraphy)