"Worlds Apart," the first single from the band's impending full-length follow-up to Codes, makes noisy indie rock even more accessible. Its less-than-lacerating lines about celebrity culture don't even improve on Good Charlotte's lavish-lifestyles lament, but once the chorus kicks in, all is forgiven.
"Worlds Apart," like 2003's Secret of Elena's Tomb EP, suggests that Trail of Dead might be trading its chaotic crescendos for steady-building melodic momentum. Its incremental approach replaces the jarring jolt of sudden time-signature switches. Instead, the band cultivates anticipation before turning every chorus into a cathartic harvest. It will always have a soft spot for atonal hardcore blasts and superfluous samples ("Worlds" pads its running time with bird chirps and kid giggles), but emphatic rockers now anchor its albums.