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And You Will Know Us By The Trail of
Dead

The Secret of Elena's Tomb (2003)
Universal Music Group

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Contributed by: AnaMorph0sIs
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on April 1st 2003

Having released the album hailed by many critiques as one of the best indie-rock records to date last year (Source Tags and Codes), Austin-based And you will know us by the Trail of Dead (ToD) knew what kind of expectations they had in store before the release of their new EP ‘The Secret of Elena’s Tomb’. Let me be the first to tell you, if you liked Source Tags and Codes (or any of their earlier releases) you will most probably not be disappointed.

Consisting of only 5 songs (19.09 minutes), the EP doesn’t have the depth to scar you to the degree their earlier albums did (as often is the case with EP’s). The scar it does leave however smells of creativity and quality.

Opening with the intense ‘Mach Schau’, ToD drives you right into their world of playful guitar-wizardry, perfectly complemented by equally playful bass-lines and bizarre oral utterings. ‘All Saints Day’ and ‘Crowning of a Heart’ tunes down a bit, but are in return the two best songs on the EP, and quite possibly two of the best songs ever released by the band. ‘Counting off the Days’ is more of a sentimental piece, an acoustic guitar and Conrad Keely’s voice accompanied by something sounding like a hybrid between an old viking-horn and a fiddle. The last song on the EP is actually an old tune called ‘Intelligence’, the product of an experiment by Jason Reece and a bunch of his friends. It’s really just weird, with drum machines and wicked samples all over the place.

The special atmosphere, creativity and innovation that made ToD what they are today remain very apparent on the EP. As mentioned, if you’re a fan, there’s absolutely no reason for you not to get this.

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TheMike (January 25, 2007)

I wasn't too fond of this EP when I first heard it, but it's grown on me considerably since. I especially like "All Saints Day"

AnaMorph0sIs (April 7, 2003)

To the one below: Correct. Everybody seems to hate categorizing when it comes to music. Would 'post-punked progressive down-tuned hardcore' be a more suitable description? Maybe so, but it would only look silly in a review. ;)

Anonymous (April 7, 2003)

indie seems to be what bands are classified when jackass journalists can't figure out exactly what category they fit in to.

Anonymous (April 4, 2003)

hahahahahaa indie rock.

AnaMorph0sIs (April 4, 2003)

Mikeshitter: Yeah, you seem to know what you're talking about. :P

Mikeshitter (April 3, 2003)

And they're shit live!

degenerate (April 2, 2003)

'indie rock' is a term used by every lazy ass music journalist in england.

waste_elite (April 1, 2003)

yeah, there is kind of a debate involving the term "indie". people call bands on major labels "indie" all the time, and well, technically they aren't. thse days the word has become more of a genre name than a way to differentiate between mainstream and underground.

with that said, Source Tags and Codes is an awesome record and i would definitely call it one of last year's best.

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

"Intelligence" sounds like a U2 song.

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

Doesn't a band have to be on an indie label to be considered indie rock? I'd just call "Source Tags And Codes" a very good major label experimental rock record.

AYWKUBTTOD needs seguing between their songs; it really helps intensify their songs. I'm sure the next full-length will be as strong as "STAC", if not stronger.

FortyMinutesWest (April 1, 2003)

I don't get this band, I'm sure I even want to.

AnaMorph0sIs (April 1, 2003)

Oh, damn, yeah, worded badly indeed (so was this). Replace "to date" with "of all time", and you may understand what I tried to say.

Still confused?

http://y.20q.net:8095/btest?SQlnQwnajrWEdoI5rZJLcVGc ,n5nRxr_kd

waste_elite (April 1, 2003)

yeah kinda worded badly

i'm assuming he meant that it was one of last year's best indie rock records.

hungryjoe (April 1, 2003)

"...one of the best indie-rock records to date last year..."

is anyone else confused by this statement?

waste_elite (April 1, 2003)

this was quite the let down

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

is this new?

cubaricho (April 1, 2003)

this EP is horrible.

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

it works both ways most say lagwagon some say Lag Wagon

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

is lagwagon 1 word or 2?

Anonymous (April 1, 2003)

Just remember though.. that pitchfork review was just in reference to the 4th song. They mostly just called the EP scattered and aimless. Which is really correct

hungryjoe (April 1, 2003)

i love pitchfork, not for their "we know everything" attitude, but for the way they rip things to shreds. This is from their Trail of Dead review posted yesterday:

If this is a joke, I give them credit for faking me out; if not, they should stop and consider whether America really needs another diary-scribbling pussy sobbing on its disdainful shoulder.