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<ALBUM STYLE="punk, indie, emo, art rock, dream pop, experimental" TITLE="Source Tags & Codes">

Written: Jan 12 '04 (Updated Jun 22 '04)

The Bottom Line: Will you consider Source Tags & Codes to be a bold artistic statement, or will it just bug you? I guess it all depends on how you're programmed.

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Have you ever checked out a band or an album just because you thought it had an interesting name? I'm sure I can't be the only one. Mind you, that wouldn't be anywhere near enough to make me purchase a work by said band, but in this digital age, it's easy for anyone with an Internet connection to at least sample the work of a group they're intrigued by. In the case of the band with the extremely unwieldy name ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, it was both the band name and the album title that hooked me. How could a geeky programmer not be intrigued by a title like Source Tags & Codes?


Fortunately, the Trail of Dead (shortening the band's name is a necessity if one wants to review their work without getting too tedious) has more going for it than just a habit of naming things in an amusing fashion. Turns out that these guys are a bit of a window onto a few genres that I must admit to not entirely understanding. They're a four-piece band centered around Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, two multitalented youngsters who frequently trade off duties on vocals, guitars, and drums. After gaining some notoriety in the world of indie/underground rock, they were offered a deal with Interscope Records, and Source Tags & Codes is the result. While I can't attest to the quality or "indie-ness" of their previous work, I can safely say that this album doesn't feel like the usual bid at mainstream popularity that comes with signing to a major label. It's a jagged piece of work, definitely drawing from the wells of punk and indie rock while possessing a busy, bold sound and containing some well-timed melodic passages. It's one of those modern rock albums that feels like a trip into a strange new reality rather than just a collection of good singles. And while I could apply the dreaded "emo" tag to a few of these songs based on their titles and apparent subject matter, that isn't meant as an insult to the band. I like emotional rock songs with wordy titles. Most of the time, anyway. Whatever the case, I'm certainly more up for this barrage of styles than I would be for the brutal, harrowing death metal that you'd expect from a band with such an audacious name.

A key element that helps the Trail of Dead to stand out is their use of noise. Now when I say "noise", I'm not just talking about sheer volume - though they use that to their advantage on several occasions. I'm talking about little instrumental bits and sound clips that come bubbling to the surface, and that form the bridges between most of the album's songs. But wait a minute... didn't I complain about the very same thing when <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_109106663044">Wilco</a>; did it? Yeah, I know, I'm a hypocrite. Wilco did it here and there... the Trail of Dead uses noise more gratuitously. Maybe I didn't find the noise on this album to be as annoying, or last as long, or maybe I felt it contributed to the flow of the album rather than taking it away... Nah, I'm just a hypocrite. We'll leave it at that.

I suppose my attitude about "noise" is a small example of the bigger picture - the Trail of Dead uses a lot of elements that I normally don't like, and for some reason, I like the overall result. I'm not a big fan of punk, or indie rock. I don't tend to enjoy vocals that half-scream and half-sing. I usually get annoyed when I'm rocking out to a song and then the bottom drops out due to an unexpected tempo change. But whatever. This is intriguing and enjoyable music - from its harshest moments of frustration and brutality to its most reflective moments of clarity and compositional inventiveness. The lyrics don't disappoint either - while the band can sound rather harsh and even anarchistic at times, the album ultimately ends up being an interesting contemplation of forgiveness versus contemplation. The "messy" nature of the music adds to this tension and uncertainty as the band deals with their unresolved questions regarding why everything's put together the way that it is. I know, here I go making a concept album out of what might not necessarily be one. I can't help it.


It Was There That I Saw You 
You were fair and fey as a sun that evil day 
We were bold and life was great 
But as time went on, I wondered what was wrong 
I wondered what became of you... 
The static that leads into the album's first song, somewhat like a radio tuning in, ironically reminds me of the beginning of an album I just reviewed by <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_124397588100">Dream Theater</a>. The similarities end soon enough, of course, with some slow guitar noodling abruptly giving way to a burst of instrumental power over which one of the vocalists drones out some emo-ish lyrics about meeting someone memorable but eventually losing track of her (I'm assuming it's a girl, but it's not specified). Perhaps it's someone he met in a tropical locale (the two main guys in this band first encountered each other in Hawaii, so it's not too much of a stretch), since he says "Let me come and have my leis", which could well be a double entendre indicating a summer fling, but I might be reading too much into that. The song follows a relatively simple pattern despite its frantic mood - start slow, then speed up again, then fall off into a quiet instrumental break, then get revved up again for the second verse. It's a bit different from the usual song structure, which gives the album a bit of an odd start, but it works. I like the drums during the faster part - rapid striking of the cymbals adds to the illusion that the song is continually speeding up even though it isn't. See <a href="http://www.epinions.com/content_92474347140">Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" for a similar effect.</a>

Another Morning Stoner 
Why is it I don't feel the same? 
Are my longings to be blamed 
For not seeing heaven like you would see? 
Why is a song a world for me? 
The feedback that closes out the first song (that happens on a few songs, actually) pops rather suddenly into some dissonant guitar noise which contrasts strangely with the overall melodic and cathartic nature of this song. It's got a pleasant but urgent guitar line that seems to ascend hopefully, and the instrumental breaks between the verses manage to be heavenly and yet noisy at the same time. A tough song to describe, "Another Morning Stoner" doesn't end up being the drug anthem you might expect from such a title. (Have you learned nothing about judging based on titles?) The singer seems to be addressing an individual who is trapped in his own little world, someone who wants life to be heaven and who can't face reality. (That's just a guess, these lyrics are highly subject to interpretation.) Just listening to the song, you might not immediately catch all of the allusions to heaven and faith, since the vocals are sometimes difficult to make out within the band's wall of sound, but the theme comes clear when the song crescendos near the end and one of the guys is screaming, "What is forgiveness? It's just a dream. What is forgiveness? It's everything." A contradictory pair of statements if I've ever heard one! It's almost as if he's having an argument with himself, trying to decide what to believe about the world around him. The song eventually falls apart into a snippet of background noise, where people can be heard chattering and an accordion is playing, as if you've suddenly been transported to some random Italian café. Strange.

Baudelaire 
Here among all the vicious beasts 
With their blood lust feast 
Ordained by black priests... 
The third song, one of the album's more straightforward rockers, breaks in without much warning, its pounding drums getting the blood pumping. The guys' voices seem a bit muffled as they prattle on about sin and lust and being "one of the boring ones"... they have an eerie, almost horror movie sort of tone, and yet it's a very controlled delivery, sounding monotonous and unconcerned. It's quite a contrast with the music, which just doesn't seem to let up, once again feeling like it's careening out of control even though the tempo is pretty much level throughout. Ten to one odds that this is a killer live number! It too bleeds into noise at the end, leaving the listener floating in outer space with a truly creepy bass line lurking underneath them. (Bass player Neil Busch also handles the sampling on this album, so the juxtaposition of sounds makes sense.)

Homage 
Brutal kids of this promised future 
Cut the highways with shards of truth... 
Just in case you weren't startled enough, a raw-throated shout and more pounding drums suddenly bring the album into overdrive, assaulting the eardrums with a take-no-prisoners rocker featuring nothing other than screamed/spoken lyrics. Seriously, I think the guys set out to strip as much melody out of this one as they could, since the lead guitar lines are squealing all over the place and groping for some sense of tonality, and not a single lyric is sung. Despite all of that, it's actually pretty catchy, in a wave-your-hair-around-and-act-like-an-idiot sort of way. It's interesting - a lot of people complain about the overuse of the "soft verse/loud chorus" dynamic in rock music today, and I think these guys have taken that tactic and flipped it around here, screaming the verses and deadpan-speaking the refrain of "I heard your voice on my radio". And then there's a raspy, repeated line at the end "Do you believe in what I have seen?" It's a chilling number that gives me visions of a rebellious rock singer hell bent on leading hordes of fans away into darkness.

How Near, How Far 
Oil painted eyes, blind yet hypnotized 
I swear I know not why 
Those eyes have always left me dry... 
It's probably no big surprise that my favorite track on the album is one of the more mid-tempo, melodic numbers. And that's no diss to the preceding tracks, which have all been good, but there's something about the tune and the many layers of this song that screams "standout". I love the way the vocals, as whiny as they may be, dovetail into harmony with one another, and even more than that, I love the way the song doubles its tempo during the verses, the drums driving them with a catchy cadence - Bum bum BADABADA bum bum BADABADA!!! The lyric sseem once again to be attached to the mystery of someone special who has been lost - a muse whose image the singer has memorized,but who will not return to him. Hey man, I know the feeling.

Heart in the Hand of the Matter 
And this is where it began 
Shot through a shattered lens 
And there is virtue in loneliness 
In vacant lots and florescent malls... 
Musically, this track almost seems to bleed in with the last one. It's got the same tempo and, aside from a few spoken vocal parts, an emphasis on melody riding on top of the dirty guitars and other musical havoc. The song seems to focus on a theme of death and condemnation, coining phrases like "Ride the apocalypse" and "Fallen angel, no need to hide". It's as if these are the words of a soul convinced it's headed straight to hell - "I'm so damned, I can't win/My heart in my hands again." It's scary, and yet beautiful, thanks to the atmospheric keyboards that somehow manage to come up for air. More bits of noise pop up at the end - this time it sounds like pipes clanging around and voices echoing off into the distance.

Monsoon 
Millions of people, all of you people 
Dream of the sandman, but the sandman has turned to mud... 
The band's apocalyptic vision spills over into this harrowing epic, which for some reason reminds me of the few scattered Sonic Youth tracks that I've been exposed to. The muddy guitars and rolling drum cadences pelt the listener, offering a clear picture of the rainstorm being described in the song. It's one of those angry, shake-your-fist-at-the-Almighty type of songs, because here the singer is questioning why millions of people in third world countries are being wiped out due to intense natural disasters. The guy seems to have no problems laying their spiritual issues out on the table when he sings, "Pray to God, but I doubt that He's listening/This world is a gutter that He likes to p!ss in." Harsh! The song gets to be a bit gratuitous, running at almost six minutes with a slow instrumental break in the middle, and the torrent of percussion near the end is a monstrous thing to behold, overpowering the vocals as it swallows everything in its wake. I can't help but admire the ambition and be captivated by the performance even if I have trouble swallowing what the song is trying to say. As expected, the song ends in another wash of noise, during which a voice can be heard uttering the words "Favorite website". Just a random sound snippet, or a clue?

Days of Being Wild 
Noise to the tape comes like a shattered beast 
Cast a shade, your mouth destroys me... 
Another "protest" song shows up here, perhaps a notch lower in intensity than "Homage", but still formidable in its bursts of frustration. From the cryptic, shouted lyrics to the barely discernable gang vocals that provide the "chorus", this song is a doozy to unravel, reading like the ramblings of a drug addict. (Perhaps drugs had something to do with a few of these songs after all.) Overall, this one doesn't come across as being so sure-footed - perhaps it has the illusion of losing momentum a few minutes in because at this point, I've taken more of a liking to the songs that build to a crescendo rather than starting off there. This song seems aimless, even going so far as to incorporate a spoken word poem over the haggard shouts at the end of the song, which culminates in the line "A middle finger to the institution". I don't know why, but taking pot-shots at an unnamed "institution" seems like a bit of a punk cliché at this point... and then I look at the song's title and wonder if it's a sort of glance back at the days of being wild and protesting for the sake of protesting, and jumping around and breaking stuff, more so than a statement on how the protagonist feels about it all now.

Relative Ways 
This electric guitar hanging to my knees 
A couple of verses I can barely breathe... 
By far the poppiest song on the album (and also a single that I believe preceded the release of the album) this one comes crashing in with a resonating 3/4 rhythm, before settling into a normal 4/4 for the verse. The song has a very repetitive melody, and were it not for the abrupt time signature changes and the positively grating way that the second verse is screeched out, this would be radio-friendly material. (Not that I mind the non-radio-friendliness... OK, so this might be the one point where the screaming bugs me.) It's almost as if a reconciliation is occurring in this song, drawing together the disparate rhythms and acknowledging that "It's coming together in relative ways". It's as if a light bulb has gone on inside the singer's head and he's experiencing an epiphany - "It's OK, I'm a saint. I forgave your mistakes." Seems like an odd thing to say in a messy, artsy, post-punk rock album, doesn't it? But I rather like that element - it adds a glimmer of hope to an album that has thus far been drowning in despair.

After the Laughter 
The album's lone instrumental track finally takes the band's penchant for non-sequitur interludes and turns it into a reflective instrumental number, twisting "Relative Ways" into a minor key and mulling over its main riff with a delicate piano in place of the ringing guitars. The song has an "old-timey" sort of feel to it, as if looking back over a scrapbook of memories from a hundred years ago. What's most impressive about this little segue is how it manages to piece together bits of the melodies from the songs it's sandwiched between.

Source Tags & Codes 
Spend half a life deciding what went wrong 
Trying to find out what took you so long 
Until you feel it's all part of some crazy scheme... 
The instrumental finally breaks into a conservatively paced, but confident guitar melody as the album's title track begins to march along. I guess when I see that an album's title track is at the end, I really expect it to be a summation of the overall theme, and I can say that the song satisfies in that regard while still being somewhat cryptic. It's about curiosity, the desire to "One day find out what's behind that hill". It takes on a laid-back tempo, as if content to be a good traveling song instead of a haunting epic or whatever you might expect to close out such an album. It's startlingly normal given what went on earlier - reflecting the mood of "Relative Ways" in its brief shifts to a different rhythm and then back again. Musically I have to admit I'm a bit underwhelmed with it (and the hidden track, consisting solely of strings which reprise a melody heard earlier, has been done more than enough times by other bands), but I like how the lyrics muse over the need to explore things and find out what makes them work, to get a peek at the universe's "source tags and codes", if you will. Since so much of the album is spent pondering death and forgiveness and reconciliation, this track feels like a bit of a resolution, not answering all the questions, but leaving the listener with a sense of contentess that it's all programmed this way for a very good reason.


And there you have it - a peek at what seems to make this indie-gone-major-league band tick. For a band who snagged my attention with nothing other than a cool title, I have to say I went in with no expectations, but came out pretty excited, having found an unorthodox collection of tunes (at least compared to most of my existing collections) that wouldn't seem to vacate my brain despite their general lack of radio playability. I'm definitely intrigued by all of the illusions to faith and doubt and heaven and hell and so forth that show up here - such things generally make for more interesting material than whining about girls for 45 minutes straight ever would. (Though they seem to do a little bit of that, and hey, I like whining about girls sometimes.) I look forward to hearing what strange places the Trail of Dead leads us to the next time around. Until then, I'm sure I'll have my hands full hacking into Source Tags & Codes.


ALBUM WORTH: 
It Was There that I Saw You $1 
Another Morning Stoner $2 
Baudelaire $1.50 
Homage $1 
How Near, How Far $2 
Heart in the Hand of the Matter $1 
Monsoon $1.50 
Days of Being Wild $.50 
Relative Ways $1 
After the Laughter $1.50 
Source Tags & Codes $1 
Hidden Track $0 
TOTAL: $14

CONCLUSION I'm sure you can find this used for a lot cheaper than what I think it's worth.

Band Members: 
Conrad Keely: Vocals, guitars, drums 
Jason Reece: Vocals, guitars, drums 
Kevin Allen: Guitars 
Neil Busch: Bass, sampling


Great Music to Play While: Coding Web Pages



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<ALBUM STYLE="punk, indie, emo, art rock, dream pop, experimental" TITLE="Source Tags &amp; Codes">

<ALBUM STYLE="punk, indie, emo, art rock, dream pop, experimental" TITLE="Source Tags & Codes">