IX

IX strips down the layers and offers walls of noise, but cushions the blow with moody interludes. [No. 116, p.53]

IX sees the Texans at their most focused and thrilling.

Musically, IX is less threatening then previous albums, but that doesn't mean it's any less potent. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Here they find wonderful refuge in stability. [Nov 2014, p.102]

TOD are, miraculously given their longevity, still managing to remain interesting.

If you’re new to Trail of Dead, this might be a good place to begin your investigations, and if you’ve lost track of them since their critical and commercial peak, then ‘Sound Of The Silk’ and IX as a whole is as good a way as you’ll find to rediscover this consistently fantastic band.

While the band may have struggled in the past to reconcile their post-hardcore roots with their art-rock ambitions, more often than not, IX marks the spot.

It gets a bit samey, as if noise alone is enough of a statement of intent. Thankfully, things pick up in the second half. [Dec 2014, p.104]

Messy, occasionally repetitive, and short of excellent, but strong enough in its best moments to show that …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead haven’t stopped challenging themselves and their audience.

Like 2011's Tao Of The Dead, IX is a big thing, which sometimes rings rather hollow. [Dec 2014, p.71]

While both sides [of the album] are well executed, neither makes as much of an impact as it has in the past. It may not be ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's most exciting album, but there are still enough bright moments here to keep fans engaged.

The strongest moments on IX, like on any of the band's albums, are those that manage to create a vast rock sound by building elements up to impressive climaxes before bringing them crashing down.

IX is a finely detailed exercise in establishing and exploiting excitement levels, at points telegraphing its trajectory but always delivering substantial payoffs.

If there's a thread connecting TOD's discography, it's cinematic ambition, a musical grandeur grounding both the post-punk of 2002's Source Tags & Codes and the lush art pop of 2005's Worlds Apart, career milestones the pair. IX evolves that tradition, though it surfaces through different channels.

It may not be an outright classic like Source Tags & Codes, but it finds the band at their most measured yet. And, it feels important--not epic, but important.

IX isn't quite as boisterous as 2012's outstanding and raucous Lost Songs, but ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead's subtle power still impresses. [8 Nov 2014, p.55]

[IX meerges] distortion and tunes with heartfelt euphoria and big breakdowns. [Dec 2014, p.102]

The robust rock songs fall flat, rarely achieving lift off from their rote, chugging origins, while even the band’s worst proggish impulses are neatly trimmed down into manageable four-minutes-and-under transitions and slapped with a typically Trail of Dead-ian name, a middle finger in disguise. Only closer “Sound Of The Silk” really marries the two histories of the band into the kind of complete performance that made Tao of the Dead such a thrilling ride.