#15
Artist: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Album: Source Tags & Codes
Year of Release: 2002
Label: Interscope
What best reveals the genius of this album is the shuffle function. When I'm randomly listening through my library and something like "Homage" or "Another Morning Stoner" comes up, it fits in with the flow better than almost anything. This is because every song on this album is perfectly crafted while forgoing any sense of pretension or inaccessibility. Conrad Keely's voice is earnestly expressive (I recall a reviewer describing it as "vomiting confetti"), the lyrics are clever while avoiding complication ("how near how far how lost they are"), and the songs aspire to be something more than standard radio fare but don't steer away from power chords and bombastic choruses. I appreciate the desire to celebrate this record that drives Pitchfork's semi-infamous perfect 10 review, but what the text of the piece gets wrong is how it tries to exhalt all of this to the level of the profound. You don't need to give Wendy's a Michelin star to to say the spicy chicken sandwich is one of the best things to eat and you don't have to elevate this album to the highest levels of art to say it's one of the best things to listen to. It just is and that's enough.
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