…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – XI: Bleed Here Now

Give this to …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – they know who they are. Conrad Keely & Jason Reese could have changed their grand, epic style long ago, but have stuck to it and their ambitions, even as they’ve never reached the heights that their music aspires to. XI: Bleed Here Now sees them go even bigger – it’s a double album, clocking in at 22 songs and an hour & 14 minutes – with all their highs & lows.

There are great pieces of the Trail of Dead epic, such as the building “Penny Cradle” or the orchestral grandeur (with the grand dame Amanda Palmer) “Millennium Actress”, but also times hollow, big-for-big’s sake (no song needs to be over eleven minutes like “Taken by the Hand”). And it can be a little frustrating, because Keely & Reese can pull off other styles, such as the sweeter & catchy “Field Song” or the punk cry out, “Kill Everyone”. But instead, too often they return to the grand inflation they so clearly love.

And no record really should be a double-album of so many songs & minutes, including instrumental interludes, so many rises & falls that they lose some of their power. But this is the vision of …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, and credit to them for living it out as best they can.