The title might just be a stab at their fans, you know the ones that go away from their shows disappointed if they don't trash the stage. Some love it and some hate it. I've seen scathing reviews of this album claiming that it's boring. I couldn't disagree more. I love this album. It's made my "Listen to at maximum volume" list. Oh sure, some songs start out slow, but then they kick in. A few use piano instead of guitar. Although disconcerting at first, I don't mind it. The album tapers out a little at the end, but I even love the slow songs that close out the album. It could be my favorite album of the year.
A lot of fans who reviewed it on Amazon are complaining that they have wimped out. I can understand the disappointment a little. I think this was an attempt to broaden their base. This has some classic-sounding Trail of Dead songs, but it also branches out into experiments with bongos, pianos and such. Frankly, I think they got bored with their all-out wall of sound songs on every song. The results aren't going to please everyone, but it hooked me in, but what do I know?
I lent it to a co-worker who's in a band and older than I am. I figured he might enjoy the subtle nuances and some of the more rocking moments of this album. His response was basically, "It was okay. It kind of bored me in parts so I had to fast-forward to the good parts."
I couldn't believe it. I think I'm one of the few people nowadays that likes some variety in my music. Oh sure, I like an all-out rocking record like anybody, but sometimes, when an album really gets me, it's not about the rocking. It's about emotion and texture (man, I sound lame when I'm trying to talk serious about music).
To put it simply, I like the rocking moments. I like the soft moments. I like their mixing it up on this album.
You can listen to two of the songs here: http://www.myspace.com/trailofdead
My Trusted MOGs
I don't know what to think of Trail of the Dead. Their albums have never ceased to amaze me. They are all great musicians but I feel that they lack the talent you hear on their records during live performances. Live shows are what make good bands in my book. I have only seen them once, so I would love to check them out again but my friends have been to multiple shows and discredited them. I haven't checked out this new album, I probably should though ( : Keep rocking great tunes.