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Feb 26, 2022 By Austin Saalman

Arguably one of modern music’s most elusive acts, Austin-formed progressive post-hardcore outfit …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead has been expanding its already eclectic sound for over two decades. Essentially the brainchild of lifelong friends Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, whose relationship has spanned cross-country, from Oahu, Hawaii, where they met as youths, to Olympia, Washington, and on to Texas, where they eventually settled, forming their band amidst Austin’s vibrant ’90s music scene. Keely and Reece have maintained an ever-evolving vision over the years, incorporating strong prog and art rock influences into Trail of Dead’s initial post-hardcore base, having at various points peppered their lively sound with elements of emo, indie, neo-psychedelia, baroque pop, and world music, forging one of popular music’s most perplexing and astounding subgenres. After two lesser indie efforts, the group entered the 21st century with a bang, releasing its third studio album Source Tags & Codes on February 26, 2002, to widespread critical acclaim, launching Trail of Dead to the scene’s forefront.

Widely accepted as Trail of Dead’s finest album, Source Tags & Codes showcases a number of the group’s core attributes prior to its turn toward loftier visions on subsequent releases. The album is a piercingly vivid post-hardcore record through and through, rich with grinding feedback and pummeling guitars, Keely and Reece’s shared vocals showcasing two sides of a unified soul. “It Was There That I Saw You” explodes into a tingling haze of dreamy noise rock, Keely revisiting the ghosts of ’90s Austin and memories of a former co-worker with whom he was once infatuated, recalling against a backdrop of throbbing, fuzzed-out noise: “I wondered what became of you.” Fan favorite “Another Morning Stoner”—which may as well stand as a blueprint for an ideal early-’00s post-hardcore anthem—is a murky tale of religious conflict between two lovers, the secularist Keely declaring, “You cursed the worlds I longed to save.” Then-bassist Neil Busch takes the lead on the stomping “Baudelaire,” delivering a superior third wave emo jam for a year which birthed a slew of canonical third wave releases, while Reece, whose vocals are perhaps most tailored to that movement, emerges on “Homage” to murmur and scream his way through its speedy fury, somewhat recalling scene innovators and fellow Texans At the Drive-In. Keely returns to deliver more disgruntled art school poetry on standout “How Near How Far,” singing, “Looking back in time/Through verses set in nursery rhyme/At oil painted eyes/Of muses left behind.” Keely’s angst, which runs like ink spilled through each of his lyrics, swells especially thick here, the group coming together to form a single sonic wall of anguish. Other key tracks include the punky “Days of Being Wild,” unabashed alt rocker “Relative Ways” (one of Trail of Dead’s finest songs), and the album’s epic closing title track, which finds the group intimately exploring its deep indie roots, appropriately winding down a major release yet to lose its teeth or emotional impact.

All in all, Source Tags & Codes is a shining example of its genre, naked enough still to emit the required “raw nerve” sort of pain, yet stripped and concise enough so not to alienate skeptical listeners, as some of the group’s more blatantly experimental output would. While Trail of Dead released several more strong albums—2006’s So Divided being especially noteworthy—something in the way it all came together on Source Tags & Codes would be difficult to replicate. Indeed, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead’s masterpiece cuts deeply even 20 years on, guaranteed to haunt even the most jaded rock and roll fan.

www.dinealonerecords.com/artists/and-you-will-know-us-by-the-trail-of-dead/

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