Perhaps one of the crown jewels of the more known side of the indie rock scene, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have now made the move to the next level with this, their full-length major label debut. A bit tamer than their prior outings however, this effort tends to find the band exerting a stronger focus over the structures of their material while still touching upon the same discordant indie/post rock flavored passion their long time fans have come to expect. With careening guitar work and a versatile vocal performance, the group tear through a wide range of aural territory, bringing to mind the likes of the older At The Drive-In and Sunny Day Real Estate, with a touch of Queens Of The Stone Age reminiscent experimental prowess.

Through reckless screams, punk reminiscent chants, emphatic melodic croons and more, the listener is fearlessly led through a variety of different styles and tempos as the guitars carve and sculpt out a brazen path with an often shrill array of lightly distorted riffs and delicate, clean toned plucks. Often fiery, yet ultimately devoted to song progression, the guitar parts are animated and loosely played in the true jagged indie rock fashion, allowing the music to retain a somewhat freeform feel as the songs jump all the way from screeching dissonance to subtle melodic grace. The basslines on the other hand are warm and energetic, often spiraling forth underneath the guitar work and adding their own weight to the songs momentum, while a stiff and hard hitting drumming performance brings up the rear, bashing out a wealth of punchy rolls and snare hits that forcefully drive the songs forward.

Overall the bands approach is quite brash but this doesn't stop them from making some fairly interesting music in the process as vivid sonic ambiance collides with upbeat percussion and an earnest vocal performance delivers the points home. The depth and range of the material is undoubtedly its greatest strength, as the incorporation of strings and other non conventional instrumentation really increases the breadth of the music as a whole. With sweeping harmonies and an off timed engine of percussion and slightly disjointed playing constantly pushing the songs onward, its hard not to get caught up in at least some of the material contained here, especially the less eccentric tracks like "Another Morning Stoner" and "Heart In The Hand Of The Matter". Truthfully though, this album is not for everyone and the bands ambition does get the better of them on more than one occasion, making it somewhat of a hit and miss affair. But with that said, when they do capitalize upon an idea, it is nothing short of breath taking and that alone is enough to warrant a listen from anyone who's sick of the pre-packaged mainstream song writing formulas.

Some tracks are a train wreck waiting to happen while others are a display of just how beautiful chaos can be and however rough around the edges some of the material may sound, almost all of the songs on hand here offer up a progressive listening experience that is refreshing in contrast to the bulk of what's out there today. It may not be as unique or ground breaking as a few of the other albums out there in today's indie/post rock scene, but "Source Tags & Codes", still manages to hold its own and just may be able to help this band bring the more artistic and creative side of rock back into the mainstream once again.