The trouble with the use of surliness and irony as artistic devices is that the struggle to decipher an artist's intentions can overwhelm the art itself. So it's ironic (to put a surly spin on things) that the latest from Austin's Trail of Dead fares best when it's not dissected too much.

The opening "Ode to Isis" is a minute of building musical tension (including strings!), punctuated by a chorus chanting the names of Egyptian gods. While this at first comes across as the result of an unwisely spent major-label advance, it makes sense--sort of--upon the opening bombast of "Will You Smile Again for Me," a seven-minute mindblower that's worthy of the opening fanfare.

More confusion ensues when "Smile Again" concludes with the sound of cheering children, to which frontman Conrad Keely responds, "Hey, f--- you, man!" That's the opening salvo of "Word's Apart," a would-be hit sabotaged by a Tourettes-like bout of profanity. Choruses and strings turn up throughout the album ("All White" is positively Pink Floyd-ish), further ratcheting up the earnestness factor.

"Worlds Apart" doesn't quite live up to its apparently lofty aspirations, but the overall effect is one of exhilaration--big anthems that would've come across as unapologetic if U2 was playing them. In the hands of Trail of Dead, it's interesting and confounding--no small feat for a band that's been at it for more than a decade.