...And You Will Know Us By TheTrail Of Dead

Mon 18th May, 2009 in Features

In 2002, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead made headlines when their album Source Tags And Codes scored a perfect 10 from notorious naysayers Pitchfork. The Texas prog-alt-rockers didn’t let the fame (such as it was) go to their heads, releasing another superb (although poorly received) album in Worlds Apart.

2006’s So Divided didn’t win them any new fans, and the band parted ways with longtime label Interscope. 2009 saw the release of a new album, The Century Of Self, on smaller label Justice Records. With the band set to return to Australia for the first time in years, FasterLouder spoke to very sleepy frontman Conrad Keely.

The interview gets off to a slow start, as my phone call has awoken Keely from what sounds like a deep slumber. He says it’s quite early in the morning where he is, but when I check the world clock for Nottingham, it says it’s 12:10 in the afternoon. Ahh, the rock and roll lifestyle.

Trail Of Dead’s new album was their first one away from Interscope, but Keely says it didn’t really affect the process that much. “Not as much money was spent. We didn’t get to do a lot of the mucking around we’ve done previously, and it made us more frugal. But it didn’t change the creative process at all.”

Speaking of the creative process, I’ve always wondered about what goes into coming up with songs as epic yet still earthy as Trail Of Dead’s – is there a lot of experimenting in the studio? “Not this time,” reports Keely. “We went in and we knew exactly what we wanted, exactly what we were looking for. Which stands in stark contrast to our other albums, where we didn’t really know. I think both methods have their merits – this one is certainly a lot easier, and the creative process is smoother.”

After Worlds Apart, the band spent time apart, with some punters concerned that the band might be on the verge of breaking up. But according to Keely, that was never on the cards. “No, that was never going to happen. We even continued touring. But I had some time alone, because I tend to write in isolation.”

What about co-frontman Jason Reece – is he a solo writer as well? “No, not at all, he’s actually kinda the opposite – he’s more of a collaborative writer. So we always get together to write as well.”

After 15 years in the music business, even with some lineup changes over the years, Trail Of Dead are now veterans of an industry which tends to favour a quick and easy buck over longevity and depth. So, what’s the secret to Trail Of Dead’s success?

“Friendship. It helps so much to be friends first. I think, in some ways, these days there is more freedom. Maybe not as much money, but more possibilities, and technology is changing it too, making it grow, and it’s just going to keep doing that.”

You probably wouldn’t know it to listen to them, but Trail Of Dead started out as a two-piece, with Keely and Reece sharing drums, guitar and vocal duties (which they still do). I wanted to know if they’d done much as a two piece before putting together their full band. “We did a lot as a two piece, but we always knew that we wanted to have a large sound, so that necessitated bringing in more people.

“We’ve actually done a couple of shows like that recently, and we did both our old material, and Trail Of Dead material, with just the two of us.” So does he ever long for those simpler times? “I think if we were asked to do more shows like that, we would, it just depends what happens.”

The future looks rosy for Trail Of Dead fans, with Keely revealing he wants to begin work on a new album as soon as possible. “Yeah, we’ve got lots of songs, so we want to start anew on the next record as soon as we can.”

Trail Of Dead will return to Australia in May for the first time since 2002, when a memorable Brisbane Livid set saw one of the boys end up inside the wheelie bin full of water, usually reserved for punters. So, what can we expect from them this time? Unfortunately, Keely is keeping things muted. “We don’t really set any expectations.”

So, just a normal Trail Of Dead show then? “If you can call what we do ‘normal’,” he laughs. “I really just don’t want to set any expectations – we just want people to approach it with an open mind.”

The Century Of Self is out now on Justice through Inertia. Trail Of Dead play these Australian shows this month.

Thurs 28 May – The Zoo, Brisbane
Fri 29 May – The Forum, Sydney
Sat 30 May – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne