Wikipedia

So Divided

So Divided is the fifth studio album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead released in the UK on November 13, 2006 and in the US on November 14.[1] It saw the band continuing to expand its sound, along the lines of its predecessor Worlds Apart.

So Divided
Studio album by
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
ReleasedNovember 13, 2006
StudioThe Mob House and
Big Orange Studios, Austin, TX
Genre
Length46:14
LabelInterscope
ProducerMike McCarthy
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead chronology
Worlds Apart
(2005) 		So Divided
(2006) 		...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead/Dethklok
(2007)

The lead single from the album was the track "Wasted State of Mind", though no music video was made for it. A video was, however, created for the song "Naked Sun," but with no input whatsoever from the band.[2]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk74%[4]
AllMusic     [5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
The Guardian     [7]
Pitchfork Media5.5/10[8]
PopMatters          [1]
Rolling Stone     [9]
Spin7/10[10]
Stylus MagazineD[11]
Tiny Mix Tapes      [12]
Alternative Press4/5[13]

The album received a score of 68 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[3] musicOMH gave the album all five stars and stated, "Trail of Dead appear to have dropped the noise, and bought out the tunes."[14] NME gave it a score of eight out of ten and said that TOD "do propulsive pop-rock better than anyone."[3] Alternative Press gave it four stars out of five and said, "It's clear that the Trail Of Dead we once knew no longer exists."[3] Hartford Courant gave it a favorable review and said it was "Less conceptual and experimental than its predecessor" and "a moody album, loaded with dark imagery and moments of torturous self-doubt."[15] The Phoenix gave it three stars out of four and said it " depends less on the band’s gear-smashing antics than on their sense of tunecraft, which isn’t as highly developed."[16] The A.V. Club gave it a B and said that the album "rushes in the opposite direction, moving lyrically toward more recognizable rock themes and musically toward the center."[17]

The Austin Chronicle gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and said it "attempts to unify the Austin outfit's operatic songcraft with the urgency of their "Days of Being Wild" to unlock 2003's The Secret of Elena's Tomb EP and overcome the trappings of the previous year's brilliant Source Tags and Codes, from which those days sprung."[18] Yahoo! Music UK gave it seven stars out of ten and said it "sees ...Trail Of Dead leaving their footprints in some intriguingly unlikely places. Whether the faithful choose to follow them or not, they deserve respect for that alone."[19] Blender gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "satisfyingly sloppy".[3] URB gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and stated that "The path to orchestral bombast continues".[20] Paste likewise gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "A grandiose pop album that applies certain ToD formulas to the ambitious agenda taken by bands like Mercury Rev and Doves."[3] Billboard gave it a positive review and said it "offers a more diverse song mix than one might expect."[3]

Other reviews are average, mixed, or negative: Q gave the album three stars out of five and called it "the sound of a maverick raging against the dying of the light."[21] Uncut likewise gave it three stars and said the album "curbs some of the excesses that made 2005's Worlds Apart so unfocused."[22] Playlouder likewise gave it three stars out of five and said, "It's hard to truly love a band that are so chameleonic that they sacrifice signature definition for adventurousness."[23] Likewise, Now gave it three stars and said, "While they may never reach the heights of their Source Tags & Codes, the band can still push boundaries."[24] The Village Voice gave it an average review and said of the album, "As with most things Trail of Dead, it's bloated where it thinks it's profound."[25] Prefix Magazine gave it a score of 5.5 out of ten and said, "Despite the impressive stylistic voices and rich production, there's ultimately something hollow around the project."[26] Drowned in Sound gave it a score of five out of ten and stated: "While the instrumental augmentation in most of the songs is impressive, the setlist feels less immediate than the band's past work."[27] Mojo, however, gave the album two stars out of five and said it was " less pompous, but the dynamic likes of Naked Sun and Stand In Silence barely atone for hamfisted stabs at chamber pop, country and The Cure."[3] Stylus Magazine gave it a D and said of the album, "Its artistic detours are even more jarring than those of Worlds Apart. The good news is that its quality is far less erratic. The bad news is the reason why: it's almost uniformly awful."[11]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro: A Song of Fire and Wine" 1:42
2."Stand in Silence" 4:35
3."Wasted State of Mind" 5:27
4."Naked Sun" 6:04
5."Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory" (†)Robert Pollard2:14
6."So Divided" 6:29
7."Life" 5:59
8."Eight Days of Hell" 2:09
9."Witch's Web" 4:11
10."Segue: In the Realms of the Unreal" (‡) 2:19
11."Sunken Dreams" 5:05
Total length:46:14
Japanese and European editions
No.TitleLength
12."Witch's Web" (Original Version)4:47
Total length:51:01
iTunes edition
No.TitleLength
12."Let It Dive" (Demo Version)3:49
Total length:50:03
Notes
  • † The album includes a cover of Guided by Voices' "The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory", which originally appeared on the GBV album Bee Thousand.[5]
  • ‡ The back cover incorrectly names track 10 as "Segue: Sunken Dreams".[28]

Personnel

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...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Additional musicians

  • Amanda Palmer: piano on "Life", "Eight Day Hell" and "Witch's Web". Vocals on "Witch's Web".
  • Lily Courtney: backing vocals on all songs, lead vocals on "Eight Day Hell" and end vocals on "Life".
  • Will Courtney: backing vocals on all songs, lead vocals on "Eight Day Hell"
  • James Olsen: backing vocals on "Stand in Silence", "Naked Sun" and "Eight Day Hell". Lead vocal on "Sunken Dreams"
  • Beaux Randall: backing vocals on "Naked Sun"
  • Daniel Wilcox: slide guitar on "Witch's Web".
  • Pat Mastelotto: percussion on "Wasted State of Mind" and "Life".
  • Hilary Hahn, violin on "Witch's Web".
  • Matt Bang: sax solo on "Naked Sun" (along with Conrad Keely)

Charts

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Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[29] 188

References

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  1. ^ a b Dan Raper (2006-12-08). "...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: So Divided". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  2. ^ Keely, Conrad (2007-04-13). "News update? And notes regarding our ridiculous video". Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Critic Reviews for So Divided". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  4. ^ Blake Solomon (2006-12-05). "And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided - Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  5. ^ a b So Divided at AllMusic
  6. ^ Gilbert Cruz (2006-11-24). "So Divided Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  7. ^ Leonie Cooper (2006-11-10). "...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, So Divided". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  8. ^ Matt LeMay (2006-11-15). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: So Divided". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  9. ^ Christian Hoard (2006-11-01). "And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: So Divided : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  10. ^ Caryn Ganz (2006-11-29). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, 'So Divided' (Interscope)". Spin. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  11. ^ a b Ian Cohen (2006-11-13). "And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  12. ^ Chadwicked (2007-01-08). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  13. ^ Usinger, Mike (January 2001). "Rev. of So Divided". Alternative Press. Vol. 21, no. 222. p. 139.
  14. ^ Sam Shepherd (2006-11-13). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - So Divided". musicOMH. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  15. ^ Eric R. Danton (2007-01-04). "Dead Come Back To Life Impressively". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  16. ^ Mikael Wood (2006-10-30). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead (So Divided)". The Phoenix. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  17. ^ Josh Modell (2006-11-20). "And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead: So Divided". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  18. ^ Austin Powell (2006-11-17). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: So Divided (Interscope)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  19. ^ Sharon O'Connell (2006-11-13). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - 'So Divided'". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  20. ^ "And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided". URB. 2006-11-10. Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  21. ^ "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: So Divided". Q: 132. December 2006.
  22. ^ "....And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - So Divided". Uncut: 101. December 2006.
  23. ^ Jeremy Allen (2006-11-14). "...And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead: So Divided (2006) review". Playlouder. Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  24. ^ Evan Davies (November 2–9, 2006). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead (So Divided)". Now. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  25. ^ Michael Hoinski (2006-10-31). "Do the Collapse". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  26. ^ Chris Sahl (2006-11-14). "Album Review: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  27. ^ Nick Cowen (2006-11-21). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - So Divided". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2014-11-08. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  28. ^ "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - So Divided". at Discogs. 14 November 2006.
  29. ^ So Divided - ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead | Billboard.com
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