- Record Label: Interscope
- Release Date: Nov 14, 2006
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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So Divided's remarkable balance between the band's grandeur and power makes it far from a disappointment.
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While the band once pushed forward with a strength that seemed to surprise even them, So Divided ultimately feels scattered and flaccid.
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Uncut[It] curbs some of the excesses that made 2005's Worlds Apart so unfocused. [Dec 2006, p.101]
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So Divided is somewhere in between—something less than the bluster and chaos of the group’s major label debut, something more than the follow-up’s misguided pretension.
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MojoSo Divided is 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. [Dec 2006, p.108]
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Q MagazineThe sound of a maverick band raging against the dying of the light. [Dec 2006, p.132]
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New Musical Express (NME)They do propulsive pop-rock better than anyone. [11 Nov 2006, p.43]
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It's all over the place, but it packs enough sweet noise manipulation and actual songwriting to get over.
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Trail of Dead appear to have dropped the noise, and bought out the tunes.
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Sleeker and slicker than their previous works but still as jugular-grabbing.
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While the instrumental augmentation in most of the songs is impressive, the setlist feels less immediate than the band's past work.
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So Divided rushes in the opposite direction, moving lyrically toward more recognizable rock themes and musically toward the center.
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SpinUnlike... Worlds Apart, So Divided is built less on brute force and more on hyperdetailed songwriting. [Dec 2006, p.101]
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Paste MagazineA grandiose pop album that applies certain ToD formulas to the ambitious agenda taken by bands like Mercury Rev and Doves. [Dec 2006, p.97]
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Entertainment WeeklyThey do... retain enough enough of their signature orchestral flourishes, grandiose choruses, and found-sound fragments to keep longtime fans satisfied. [24 Nov 2006, p.109]
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Alternative PressIt's clear that the Trail Of Dead we once knew no longer exists. [Jan 2007, p.139]
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Pick your adjective[:] Over-the-top, anthemic, epic.
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While they may never reach the heights of their Source Tags & Codes, the band can still push boundaries.
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Despite the impressive stylistic voices and rich production, there's ultimately something hollow around the project.
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So Divided 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.
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Satisfyingly sloppy.
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This loosely associated collection of songs isn't even the logical extension of some of the more unwise artistic wanderings of Worlds Apart (2005).
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BillboardOffers a more diverse song mix than one might expect. [18 Nov 2006]
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"So Divided" 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.
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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.
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UrbThe path to orchestral bombast continues on So Divided. [Dec 2006, p.118]
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[It] depends less on the band’s gear-smashing antics than on their sense of tunecraft, which isn’t as highly developed.
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It's hard to truly love a band that are so chameleonic that they sacrifice signature definition for adventurousness.
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As with most things Trail of Dead, it's bloated where it thinks it's profound.
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It appears they’ve decided to mimic the vague Abbey Road allusions Yo La Tengo made in Beat Your Ass by giving the White Album a sideways 'you-da-man' here in So Divided.
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Less conceptual and experimental than its predecessor, it's a moody album, loaded with dark imagery and moments of torturous self-doubt.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 33 out of 45
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Mixed: 5 out of 45
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Negative: 7 out of 45
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BobbyKMar 19, 2007
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RalphPMar 14, 2007Its not even worth 1 dime. So mediocre and so lame.Get source tags and codes or Madonna. How dissapointing
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DTonningFeb 14, 2007Absoulute shit compared to Worlds Apart. Not even worth mentioning in the same breath as Source Tags & Codes.