Liars

Liars don't like the idea of being pigeonholed

American rock band Liars began their career in New York with their debut album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top in October 2001. The album was recorded in mere two days. But despite lackluster promotion the album eventually brought them a fair share of popularity amidst much publicized at the time dance-punk scene of New York. The band was not averse to this attention but they didn't like the idea of being pigeonholed at all. In order to prove everyone that their music was more demanding and vicious the musicians made up their mind to take a completely unpredictable step and followed their debut with their entirely experimental album They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. This was a radical departure from their first record so it's no wonder that the album received a whole mass of extremely negative reviews from different publications small and big and scared away the majority of their fan base. However, this wasn't that disappointing for Liars, creatively unfazed by the critical response they relocated to Berlin where they have eventually recorded their third fill-length album Drum's Not Dead, which was received far more warmly than its predecessor and even helped some listeners to change their opinion about They Were Wrong, So We Drowned.

Liars turn their faces upon their listeners

This year Liars are coming back with their new self-titled record, which will hopefully solidify their status of a band with weird but interesting musical views. Just like one could expect Liars tried to make another musical departure to slake their thirst for the eternal search of self-indulging audio forms. However, it seems like their shaky style is entering more or less concrete boarders. It's not like they repeat their complex songwriting formulas but one may feel some familiar moods and hooks in the overall context even despite that fact that the album sounds different again. The musical progress lies almost on the surface - unlike previous records filled with vast, droning sonic landscapes and unpredictable song structures the new record is mostly dedicated to pop music, in terms of Liars of course. New songs serve for completely different purposes. Previously Liars have been simply representing their compositions as a mere fact without bothering themselves if anyone liked what they do or not but now they seem to be willing to turn their faces upon their listeners and even try to force a relatively friendly smile.

Liars' songs sound like a dream

The combination of Liars' tireless creativity and their curiosity to pop forms has spawned quite an interesting product. Thus, for example, the very first track Plaster Casts Of Everything reminds of Queens Of The Stone Age – raw, overloaded guitars, hard drumming and backing vocals, which sound like a merciless winter wind. So, where is pop here? But who told you that pop in the Liars' interpretation will look like pop in the common sense? Even Houscluds – one of the closest to this term song where vocals, arrangement and even performing manner are acting like dance music can hardly correspond to any standards. Nevertheless, there is nothing that could scare listeners away here, most of the songs sound pretty friendly. Cycle Time, for instance, turned out to be one of the best tracks Liars have ever done. This is just that kind of the song that absorbs your attention from the very first seconds. This track also sounds pretty heavy and features a whole mass of guitars and massive rhythm. There are few compositions that remind of Liars' earlier works on the album. Leather Prowler and Sailing To Byzantium are good examples. These songs have a really relaxed and laid back atmosphere. The smooth flow of the sonic context sounds like a reminiscent of a dream rather than of something material. However, overall, the latter description to a certain extent suits to all songs represented on the album.