Trail of Dead Prep New Single for October Release, Plan Massive 27-Date North American Fall Tour

What we're getting at is, the mighty Trail of Dead are loved and adored by all. (Any and all dissenters will be sentenced to five minutes in the shutting up room.) But hey, it's been nearly three years since Source Tags & Codes, and the question on the streets is: When the hell? Well, as we reported last month, the wisely sages at Interscope, to which the band are shackled and bound, recently decided to forgo the planned October 5th release of the band's full-length follow-up, Worlds Apart, and to instead push it back to January of 2005 to make room for releases by U2 and Eminem.

Fortunately, January isn't really that far away-- and it got just a little bit closer. In a sort of kind of way. You see, this time next month, fans will be lining up at shows nationwide to not only witness the raw, frenetic power of the group's older material, but also the explosive, exploding explosions of the new stuff. Indeed: Trail of Dead frontman Conrad Keely has just uncurtained plans for a 27-date North American fall tour, to kick off a month from yesterday at their hometown's esteemed Emo's venue. The jaunt will officially bring closure to the band's longest period of not touring since their inception seven years ago, and will be in support of the group's brand new single, which, just like the album, is titled "Worlds Apart".

Now, Keely wasn't exactly the master of clarity in a recent post on the fansite trailofdead.org, but from what we gathered, the single will see both North American and U.K. release, the latter being one of England's usual two-parters. He also mentioned that two cover songs were recorded as potential B-sides. Unfortunately, he declined to specify exactly which, preferring a much less traditional sphinx-like approach. Riddle him this: "I will give a clue, that one of them was also covered by Jeff Buckley once, and the other was written by Carole King but never performed by her." Keely is presently finishing up the single's artwork (he's a-paintin' it), and has helpfully provided fans with a link to the piece-- a portrait of Queen Victoria-- in the selfsame post. (You saw our mockup on the front page, probably.)

Finally, don't think we've forgotten about those tour dates. Trail of Dead are going to be BACK ON THE ROAD starting October 7th, so even if you can't buy the album until January, you can still experience the new material firsthand. Some of us here at the Fork, including associate news editor Joshua Sharp, were lucky enough to catch the band at their Siren Festival performance this prior July, and we must say, we were pretty much reduced to little girls by what transpired. Though the following account may recall a satirical conjecture straight out of Last Plane to Jakarta, we assure you, dear readers, that the recap is devoid of any such embellishment or intentional falsities:

The set began unassumingly enough, with Conrad Keely providing a drunken disclaimer and a worrisome proclamation that the band's guitars were not operational. He then urged audience members to channel forth their conscious energy into a "power chant," at the crux of which the peculiar and decidedly un-Trail-like sound of chamber music crept forth from the speakers. This led into an a cappella overture on Keely's behalf, a delicate and haunting introduction wiping clean any existing expectations and concurrently re-wiring the fabric of reality.

This was then followed by an explosive instrumental passage providing vague recollections of Source Tags & Codes' sonic sheen, but remaining transitory to wholly unprecedented territory. The night was dominated by the new material, rife with shockingly fitting elements such as found-sound flourishes, kraut-inspired interludes, operatic undertones, crests of unmitigated noise, and a staggering array of time-weathered wind chimes. January 2005 may seem an eternity away, but the end result is sure to match-- if not exceed-- the weight of expectation. Come, come and see the dates:

10-07 - Austin, TX - Emo's
10-08 - Houston, TX - TBA
10-09 - New Orleans, LA - TBA
10-10 - Atlanta, GA - TBA
10-14 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
10-15 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
10-18 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-19 - Baltimore, MD - The Recher Theater
10-20 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA
10-21 - Boston, MA - Middle East
10-22 - Montreal, Quebec - Cafe Campus
10-23 - Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
10-25 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
10-26 - Detroit, MI - TBA
10-28 - Chicago, IL - Metro
10-29 - Madison, WI - Annex
10-30 - Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
11-01 - Denver, CO - Bluebird
11-02 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Theater
11-04 - Seattle, WA - Neumos
11-05 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
11-06 - Portland, OR - Bossanova
11-08 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
11-09 - Los Angeles, CA - TBA
11-12 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
11-13 - Austin, TX - Emo's

Trail of Dead fansite: http://www.trailofdead.org