Album Review: Liars Liars [Mute, August 28 2007]

The Liars' Drums Not Dead was such a radical departure from They Were Wrong So We Drowned, I feel like they were trying to prepare me for their brand new self-titled release. Think of it as similar to the way that Area 51 is supposed to be the government's way of getting us used to the idea of aliens. The idea they exist is planted, so the day they are revealed as real, it won’t be such a shock that we all panic and kill ourselves from fear.

I may never completely absorb what happened musically in Drums... let alone the secret narrative of Drum and Mt. Heart Attack and with this latest self-titled offering they may be signaling a do-over. You don’t self title an album your fourth release in, do you? They have wiped the slate clean, purged the Drum and Mt. Heart attack from their system (and the soundscape drone) and have decidedly moved on... but not exactly.

The Liars are certainly not going to let anyone define their sound or typecast them in the next indie rock romantic comedy. They want to mess with your expectations and really get into those serial killer roles and live amongst them.

Liars is schizophrenic to say the least. It starts out with They Threw Us All in a Trench... sounds that dragged the Liars into the spotlight with "Plaster Casts of Everything." This is a pounding, unnerving track out of the gate, cramming your ear full of challenge. It stops and then starts again even harder, Angus is chanting low and full of echo, this wouldn’t be out of place on Drums... it’s just turned all the way up.

Then they take a left turn with "Houseclouds," heading into some serious dirty electro-soul. This isn’t the same band. I’m convinced this is Beck’s cameo and their dub club hit ripe for the remixes. So that puts us right back at square one.

Next up, "Leather Prowler," which somehow turns a drum track into a wall of sound with an impressive amount of distortion and reverb, sub-sonically shaking anything else that’s trying to break through. This would be perfect for that Nightmare Before Christmas low-rider that will be cruising the neighborhood on Halloween night.

Are you getting the picture?

The Jesus and Mary Chain is practically covered later, and I can’t hear anything but the Flaming Lips on the last track, "Protection." I’m not just making comparisons, they are sincerely possessed.

The only common thread through this tangle is the creepiness they are constantly teasing. Liars exist in that unsettling place and no matter what sounds they commit to disc it is frightening, because it’s completely unknown or just a nightmare soundtrack.

This album will either convince you they are way off course or foraging a new path entirely. Mute’s website says they wanted to rely on traditional song structures and instrument usage, and if this is their "square" album then I need another buffer album before they invade again.

Photo by: Steve Gullick