...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Welcoming the new year with one of my favorite bands. Although they made this album before they became what I really like.

It's not as good as some of their later stuff, but Trail of Dead's self-titled debut is still a pretty solid album. An influence that I really didn't expect to see was Sonic Youth, but it seems like it's there. You could have told me portions of it were B-Sides from Daydream Nation and I'd probably believe you. But while I found problems with that album's sprawling nature, this was more compact as an experience. There is a song that's over eight minutes, but it never gets boring. This was back when they were most famous for their chaotic live shows, and obviously you don't really get that on a studio album. But it's still pretty solid hard rock. You can see some signs of the band they'll eventually turn into, and some legitimately entertaining moments.

"Richter Scale Madness" starts with some random noises before a catchy, Daydream-esque song begins. "Novena Without Faith" is the long one, mixing distant, whispered vocals with a good melody that rises and falls in intensity. "Half of What" has a nice, driving beat. The closing song, "When We Begin to Steal..." is another good mix of wandering softness and imprecise, passionate loudness, and brings it to a close. I really don't have much else to say about it, other than it's a nice album that shows the beginnings of a good band.