''The Century of Self'' is the sixth studio album by
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
Production and release
This is the first full-length release from Trail of Dead after their Interscope contract.
It is also a departure from their studio production style:
"On the last two albums, we were really meticulous recording to click-track
A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise timi ...
s and doing overdub
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
s... This time, we threw all that out. We learned the songs and all tracked hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
live."
To promote the album, a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the
radio edit
In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...
of "Isis Unveiled" was released in April 2009.
It is the last studio album to feature co-founder and guitarist
Kevin Allen.
Design
Album art for ''The Century of Self'' was done entirely in blue
ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...
by singer
Conrad Keely
Conrad Keely (born 15 May 1972) is a musician, artist, and writer known primarily as the lead singer for the American rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
Background
Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England of Irish and Tha ...
.
Critical reaction
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, ''The Century of Self'' has been given a score of 68 out of 100 based on "generally favorable reviews".
[ Clashmusic.com, the online arm of ''Clash'' magazine, gave it a positive review and commented:
]"''The Century of Self'' is an album with an accomplished sense of completion – a rolling score of disparate tracks segueing into a focused, poignant collective. And for all its scintillating, visceral energy, it's an album that remains poised and impending, balanced by majestic composition and a patient anticipation for demolishing everything it builds."
''The Fly'' magazine, meanwhile, awarded the record February's Album of the Month and gave it four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that "''The Century of Self'' underlines why they remain one of the world's most vital, daring and ambitious rock bands." Conrad Keely provided an exclusive illustration to go with ''The Flys review, as well as an exclusive track-by-track analysis of the album in '' The Skinny'' ahead of its release. ''The Skinny'' also gave it four stars out of five and called it "an album that may not get a perfect score, but reaffirms Trail of Dead's role as rock's dark trailblazers." Gigwise.com gave the album all five stars and said, "It has masterpiece written all over it."
Other reviews are positive: ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' gave the album four stars out of five and said it "finds the pride of Austin, Texas, continuing to push baroque prog-rock to orchestral new heights."[ '']Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' gave it a favorable review and stated: "This Texas rock combo returns to form on The Century of Self, with producer Chris Coady stepping in for longtime collaborator Mike McCarthy." ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' also gave it a favorable review and stated, "After releasing two albums that bored even its most ardent fans, . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is back to blowing minds with ''The Century of Self''." Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...
gave it seven stars out of ten and said, "The feeling persists that ''The Century Of Self'' marks an important moment for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead--one in which they began to weave together their diverging paths and one that, after all, should be hailed as a victory."[ ]musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and said that the album ultimately "won't trouble the charts and Trail Of Dead's status as a cult act will be assured. But there's enough here to keep their small group of followers very happy indeed." '' Paste'' gave it 6.8 out of ten and said, "Conrad Keely's vocals remain scabby and untreated and there's still a bit much sonic compression, but the relative rawness adds a subtle flair to this record." '' The Phoenix'' gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four and said that TOD "settle into a nice groove somewhere between the two".
Other reviews are average, mixed, or negative: ''The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' gave the album three stars out of five and said it "may be the Austin institution's most conceptually complete work to date, a post-prog cathedral of mythical mini-epics, though it's by no means the band's masterpiece." No Ripcord gave it six stars out of ten and said the album "suffers from careless sequencing, its tempos haphazardly spooned together and flung like high school portions of mashed potatoes and gravy, slopped into sections of the tray with no real purpose or benefit." Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
gave it a score of six out of ten and said, "No other band could legitimately produce this record without being accused of extreme plagiarism, and perhaps that goes some way to explaining why, despite its shortcomings, it is still likeable." ''Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' gave it three stars out of five and stated, "A familiar sound predominates: an impressive fanfare for a royal procession that never quite arrives."[ '' Q'' also gave it three stars out of five and stated that TOD "have kept faith with their traditional mix of prog pomp and grunge power".][ ''Dusted Magazine'' gave the album a mixed review and said of the band, "The good news is that this is, in fact, a throwback to their earlier work. The bad news is that it's not throwback enough." The now defunct ''Blender'' criticized the direction of the band and the album's sound, saying: "There was a time, about six years ago, when this hyperdramatic Texas band seemed like their apocalyptic noise-rock had something meaningful to communicate. That time is long gone." It received only 2 stars out of 5. '' Under the Radar'' gave it only three stars out of five and said, "Any way you slice it, ]he band
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is a sad case in selling out."[
]
Track listing
Track details
† A truncated version of "The Betrayal of Roger Casement & the Irish Brigade" from the '' Festival Thyme'' EP.
‡ The track listing on the digipak back cover is incorrect, as it switches "Pictures of an Only Child" and "Insatiable (One)". The lyrics in the booklet keep the correct running order.
Alternate edits of "Bells of Creation" and "Inland Sea" are also included on ''Festival Thyme''.
"I'm the monster, and I exist/On this summit, I am lost" on "Insatiable (Two)" refers to the Orang Pendek
In Indonesian folklore, the ''Orang Pendek'' (Indonesian for 'short person') is the most common name given to a creature said to inhabit remote, mountainous forests on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The creature has allegedly been seen and ...
, a cryptid which lyricist Conrad Keely believes will be discovered in the next decade.
Personnel
Songs by: Jay Leo Phillips, Clay Morris, Kevin Allen, Conrad Keely, Jason Reece and Aaron Ford.
Engineers: Chris Coady
Chris Coady (born June 5, 1978) is an American record producer and mixing engineer who is best known for his work with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Deadbeat Darling, Grizzly Bear, Beach House, Blonde Redhead and others.
Since moving to New ...
; Jason Buntz; David Tolomei; Jim Volentine; Frenchie Smith.
Additional vocals by: Dragons of Zynth, Yeasayer
Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019.
History Formation
The band's thr ...
Brenda Radney Jonathan Nesvadba, Joel Nesvadba and Paul Banks.
Recorded at: Bubble Studios, Austin TX.
Chart history
See also
*''The Century of the Self
''The Century of the Self'' is a 2002 British television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It focuses on the work of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, and PR consultant Edward Bernays. In episode one, Curtis says, "This s ...
'' (2002)
*''The Far Pavilions
''The Far Pavilions'' is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the British Raj. There are many parallels between this novel and Rudyard Kipling's ''Kim'' th ...
'' (1978)
*Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...
* Halcyon days
Notes
External links
The Century of Self Unveiled: Track-By Track With Conrad Keely
at The Skinny
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Century Of Self, The
2009 albums
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead albums