IX (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead album)

IX (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead album)
Studio album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Released 10 November 2014
Recorded Sonic Ranch
Genre Alternative rock
Length 47:37 (standard edition)
73:07 (deluxe edition)
Label Superball Music
Producer Chris "Frenchie" Smith
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead chronology
Lost Songs
(2012)
IX
(2014)

IX is the ninth studio album by Austin, Texas alternative rock outfit ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, released October 20, 2014 on Superball Music.

Composition

Jason Reece explained in an interview that the band was going for a record consisting of many instrumental tracks. Several instrumentals were written, but ended up writing songs that "had a more personal lyrical bent", departing from the last album's very aggressive and political lyrics. As for the sound, it was inspired by Slave Ambient and Lost in the Dream, both records by The War on Drugs: "This layered Krautrock kind of vibe. We were thinking of Echo And The Bunnymen, Ocean Rain. These dense and bigger sounding albums. We were kind of into some 80’s music, Psychedelic Furs. Which is funny cause we’re not really a band that’s into the new wave sound, I don’t think we’ve ever made an 80’s sounding record. That’s kind of what we were jamming out to, the early 80’s sounds. Going for more of a Peter Gabriel thing, where you don’t use any cymbals, heavy toms and stuff like that were sort of the things we were kind of touching upon."[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Clash7/10[4]
Consequence of SoundB-[5]
DIY[6]
Exclaim!7/10[7]
NME8/10[8]
Pitchfork Media7.2/10[9]
Popmatters7/10[10]
The Skinny[11]
Sputnikmusic3/5[12]

Reviews for IX were mostly positive upon release, with an Metacritic average of 75/100, indicating generally favourable reviews.

Track listing

  1. The Doomsday Book - 3:32
  2. Jaded Apostles - 4:05
  3. A Million Random Digits - 3:08
  4. The Lie Without a Liar - 3:22
  5. The Ghost Within - 3:15
  6. The Dragonfly Queen - 2:57
  7. How to Avoid Huge Ships - 4:47
  8. Bus Lines - 6:09
  9. Lost in the Grand Scheme - 7:26
  10. Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears - 3:42
  11. Sound of the Silk - 5:18
  12. Keep Warm Fire - 2:27 (bonus track)
  13. Feelings and How to Destroy Them - 3:30 (bonus track)

Bonus CD: Tao of the Dead Pt III EP

  1. Tao of the Dead Part III - 19:27
    1. Gods We Really Are
    2. Once the War Was Fought
    3. Time's Twisting Line
    4. Divisive Measures
    5. Gods We Really Are Reprise

[13]

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 168
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 63

References

  1. Stevens, Matt (November 9, 2014). "Interview: Matt Stevens talks to Jason from And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead". Echoes and Dust. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  2. "IX – ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. Phares, Heather. "IX – ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  4. Diver, Mike (October 21, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – IX". Clash. Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. Brennan, Collin (November 2, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – IX". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  6. Lynham, Alex (October 16, 2014). "...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD – IX". DIY. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  7. Sookraj, Lisa (November 7, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – IX". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. Huggett, Stuart (November 9, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – IX". NME. Inspire. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  9. Berman;, Stuart (October 21, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: IX". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  10. Conaton, Chris (November 11, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: IX". Popmatters. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  11. Fitzpatrick, Will (September 30, 2014). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – IX". The Skinny. Radge Media. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  12. K., Rudy (November 6, 2014). "Review: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – IX". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  13. "Release “IX” by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - MusicBrainz". musicbrainz.org. Retrieved 2015-02-22.
  14. "Ultratop.be – ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – IX" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  15. "Officialcharts.de – ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – IX". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
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