Conrad Keely and his pack of instrument- devouring wolves figured out how to dismantle the fucking atomic bomb: let loose on it with a cymbal stand. On Trail Of Dead’s fourth LP, Worlds Apart, targets ranging from W. to Wacko Jacko also take their licks. This time out, the implementation of Keely’s vitriol is a continent away from the band’s previous Sonic- Youth-waving-a-shredded-Black-Flag efforts. “Worlds Apart,” a rant against American middle-class privilege, is a perfect Shane MacGowan-led barroom stomp. “How they laugh as we shovel the ashes/Of the Twin Towers/Blood and death, we will pay back the debt/Of this candy store of ours,” Keely sings over Jason Reece’s syncopated percussion and a simple, undistorted guitar line. More proof that the group has grown into a more washed out, skeletal and versatile sound: the Bowie-fied “All White” (with a backing choir of divas, no less), “And The Rest Will Follow” (apropos for a Document-era Michael Stipe) and “Summer Of ’91” (which only lacks a two-minute Slash solo). Still, the trademark time signature changes, sound bites, classical interludes, bombast and especially a lyrical reprise of “Worlds Apart” at the end of “Jesus Juice” show that the aesthetic developed with producer Mike McCarthy on the brilliant Source Tags And Codes hasn’t been scrapped. Rather, it has been bolstered for another successful run.

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