â?¦And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
have endured for decades, and so has their love of extremes. Where 2020's
X: The Godless Void and Other Stories
was a concise, fiery, and bittersweet dispatch, with
XI: Bleed Here Now
the band swings back to the grandiose. When the
Godless Void
tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic,
Conrad Keely
and
Jason Reece
went into songwriting mode; being holed up at home during lockdowns called to mind how their favorite classic rock albums from the 1970s, like
Pink Floyd
's
The Wall
, could take listeners on journeys without leaving their wood-paneled basements or shag-carpeted bedrooms. Those '70s roots have never been far from the band's music, but on
, they're the focus, right down to the quadraphonic sound
Trail of Dead
used to record the album (thanks to 21st century digital sound, the technology was easier and more affordable to use than it was back in the day). Coming in at a generous 73 minutes,
gives the group plenty of time to experiment with sound design as well as the different styles at which they've excelled over the years. In its first few songs alone, the album spans the
Beatles
que pop of "Field Song," the psychedelic swagger of "No Coincidence," and "Kill Everyone," a piece of thrashing hardcore that reaches deep into
's back pages. At its best, the record carries on their tradition of soaring anthems, as on "Penny Candle," a striding throwback to
Source Tags and Codes
, and channels that intensity into songs with the immediacy of live performances, as on the transporting "Golden Sail" and hypnotic centerpiece "Taken by the Hand." There's also room for cameos by friends that make for two more of the album's highlights:
Spoon
Britt Daniel
appears on "Growing Divide," one of the few acoustic respites, while
Amanda Palmer
lends her voice to "Millennium Actress," a brooding, string-driven reflection that makes the most of the quadraphonic sound. As on some of the band's rangier efforts, not all of the tracks connect and not all of its interludes are necessary. While a trimmed-down version of the album might have been more consistent,
are going for dream-spinning pageantry, and
is more proof they'll always be true believers in rock's power of spectacle. ~ Heather Phares