...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: Worlds Apart : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

When a band begins its album with a track titled "Overture," featuring a choir chanting the names of ancient Egyptian gods ("Isis! Horus! Ra!"), you have to suspect it's either Rush or just cocky bastards. And since the title track rails against MTV's Cribs, you can probably rule out Rush.

. . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead are cocky enough to make everyone else look like modest mice: a black-suited Austin art-punk ensemble of serious young men who put on some of the most towering live shows in memory, buffing up the guitar buzz of vintage Sonic Youth with anthemic power chords and Conrad Keely's demented howl. If they perfected the punk side of their music with their 2000 classic Madonna, then Worlds Apart takes it to the prog extremes, with horns, strings, piano and the epic strains of "Summer 91" and "Classic Art Showcase." It's a heroic monster of an album.