Austin’s …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have released their 11th full-length studio album and first quadraphonic sound LP – XI: BLEED HERE NOW – via Dine Alone Records. Produced by Trail’s own Conrad Keely and Jason Reece alongside Charles Godfrey, the LP was mastered by Scott Sedillo and KamranV at Bernie Grundman Mastering and is QUARK encoded to play in both stereo and Regular Matrix quadraphonic sound.
Along with the LP this week, the band is releasing three music videos. On Monday they premiered the music video for focus track “Millennium Actress” featuring Amanda Palmer via New Sounds who wrote, “Today we premiere the video for ‘Millennium Actress,’ directed by Keely himself, and featuring guest vocals by Amanda Palmer.
In quad, the voices are not just left and right, but literally in front of or behind each other. Together they offer a poignant look at an actress whose time has come and gone – the point of view shifts halfway through the song to the actress herself, who sings ‘You think that I’m someone you feel that you know.’” The segment was featured on WNYC’s All Things Considered that same evening, watch/listen HERE.
“I was familiar with this movie for some time before I wrote the song. Being a lover of anime, this one stuck out for not being about robots, mutants, people with special powers, or fantastical worlds. Instead, it was a story about the golden age of Japanese film. Growing up in Hawaii (and Thailand), we were raised with a familiarity with Japanese culture. Unlike the mainland US, they had their own dedicated TV channel. So this aesthetic has always recalled childhood memories—Kamen Rider X, Star Blazers, Godzilla, etc.
But to have an anime about something other than people with superhuman abilities was kind of special. The story of a vulnerable young woman who had the bravery to take life on her own terms, become an actress despite her mother’s disapproval and bitter competition. But then the mystery—why did she disappear? What made her turn her back on her fans and reject the outside world? What secret to her past does the key she is given represent? The key she says, “unlocks the most important thing in life.” – Conrad Keely on “Millennium Actress”.
Today, they are premiering two more videos – one for “Growing Divide” featuring Spoon’s Britt Daniel. This video was also directed by Keely who is joined by Daniel in the clip where the two beautifully harmonize on the chorus…
Don’t let the sight of the growing divide
Make you give up on humanity
Follow her voice to the ends of the earth
To discover it was meant to be
Round
“It was great working with Britt. I should probably add a ‘finally’ to that, because we’ve been talking about collaborating on something ever since what… the nineties? Jason starred in the Spoon video ‘The Underdog’, and I played some mellotron on ‘Everything Hits at Once’—but it had been a while. When I heard the playback after the first day of tracking, it made me think of how cool it would be to have another voice on it. After all, the song is about universality!” – Conrad Keely on “Growing Divide”
And the bonus video today is for “Kill Everyone.” Directed by Sam Rich and Andrew Leeper, this video takes you into the pit at one of the band’s shows. It’s a raucous clip that you can watch HERE and see below for what Keely had to say about the song.
“We started with the title and it just conjured so many images of what has been going for the last twenty years…War all the time. This is our anti-war song and the title of the song is a little deceiving. We are not trying to be shocking…but rather begging the question ‘Why do we have to kill everyone?’ Why do humans have to resort to war? Will we ever evolve? Are we just stuck in this shitty loop of destroying each over and over again? Fun times y’all!” – Conrad Keely on “Kill Everyone”
The band hits the road in August, confirmed dates below and XI: BLEED HERE NOW is out today, but HERE. For the most up-to-date info and ticket buy links, please visit this place.
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Confirmed US Tour Dates
8/9 @ Scout Bar in Houston, TX
8/10 @ Alabama Music Box in Mobile, AL
8/11 @ Masquerade in Atlanta, GA
8/12 @ The East Room in Nashville, TN
8/13 @ Hi-Tone in Memphis, TN
8/14 @ 89th St OKC in Oklahoma City, OK
8/16 @ Hi-Dive in Denver, CO
8/17 @ InsideOut in Albuquerque, NM
8/19 @ Psycho Fest in Las Vegas, NV
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Confirmed EU Headline Dates
9/27 @ Petit Bain in Paris, FR
9/28 @ The Dome in London, GB
9/29 @ Effenarr in Einhoven, NL
9/20 @ Rotown in Rotterdam, NL
10/1 @ Gebaude 9 in Cologne, DE
10/2 @ Café Glocksee in Hannover, DE
10/3 @ Forum in Bielefeld, DE
10/4 @ Kent Club in Hamburg, DE
10/6 @ Radar in Aarhus, DK
10/7 @ John Dee in Oslo, NO
10/8 @ Mejeriet in Lund, SW
10/10 @ Festsaal in Berlin, DE
10/11 @ Hybrydy in Warsaw, PL
10/12 @ Underdogs in Prague, CZ
10/13 @ Alte Malzerei in Regensburg, DE
10/14 @ Strom in Munich, DE
10/15 @ Franz K in Reutlingen, DE
10/16 @ Flex in Vienna, AT
10/17 @ Substage in Karlsruhe, DE
10/18 @ Sommercasino in Basel, CH
10/19 @ Locomotiv in Bologna, IT
10/21 @ Razzmatazz 3 in Barcelona, ES
10/22 @ Nazca in Madrid, ES
