Source Tags & Codes, the third album by post-hardcore band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, once received a perfect 10 from notable music critics Pitchfork upon its initial release in 2002. Many to this day discuss whether it deserved the score. Thinking about it a year from when I first heard it, I’m still not so sure myself. Though I can confirm that it is a glorious one. I like it quite a bit. Well worth fifty minutes of your time. You may have some preconceived ideas about the music just from the band’s name (I know I did) but you will be pleasantly surprised by the album’s quality.

The track, stemming from an idea that singer Conrad Keely had written three years before, depicts a narrator who wishes to know more about history. Entranced by ‘oil painted eyes of muses left behind’ he wants to learn about the subjects of these paintings but is ‘left dry’ that he will never be able to know the full truth, learning only what he can read in books and stories. The track contains only three verses with no distinct chorus, though the highlight for me is the instrumental break. It begins with alternating violins and guitars, before slowly building in intensity as the song’s captivating introductory riff plays and plays with Keely repeatedly singing “How near, how far/How lost they are” before seamlessly transitioning into the song’s final verse.

“How Near, How Far” quickly grew to become one of my favourites from it. It was maybe a week after listening to the full album when I was in visiting my friend in Manchester last year. I stepped outside after having partied for many hours at the university’s student union building to a sky of pink and red made by the rising of the sun. Everything from the leaves on the trees to the cars on the road had a vibrant glow. It was a sight to behold, too much to take in. I suddenly found myself humming “How Near” to myself, it just seemed like the perfect song at that moment.