Liars
by Liars

Album details

US: 28 August 2007 on Mute
UK: 20 August 2007 on Mute

Relocating to Los Angeles from Germany (and before that, New York), the indie-rockers have veered away from the experimentalism of their previous two efforts and resorted to making actual songs (angry and menacing songs, mind you, but actual songs nevertheless) for this, their fourth record.

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The critical consensus

Over the course of three ambitious albums, Liars have often seemed a band that critics really wanted to like–if only the band didn’t seem to be working so hard to make that difficult. Now that the three-piece is actually focusing on things like melody and songcraft–while never actually becoming a conventional band–we might expect the critics to be happy. And indeed they are. What is surprising, however, is seeing Beck and Jesus And Mary Chain comparisions in a Liars review.

Paste hears a "relatively normal" outing that actually includes tracks that "sound like honest-to-goodness songs." All Music Guide is impressed by Liars’ "most entertaining album yet," while Brainwashed calls it the "most immediately enjoyable record the band has put out," and Drowned In Sound similarly notes the disc’s accessibility. Harp Magazine concludes, "Finally another Liars album not just to respect, but to love." Lost At Sea applauds the album’s "unbounded freedom and diversity," and as a whole hails the disc as "an ingenuous reflection of a band in total control of their wild creativity," while Urb appreciates Liars’ "sonic depth and focus." Simon Reynolds, writing in Blender, hears "a shockingly entertaining record riddled with moody hooks." NME notes that despite the album’s accessibility and obvious influences, "at no point here do Liars compromise their fearless, experimental approach." And Pitchfork admires the album’s intensity, adding, "If it doesn’t quite confound like They Were Wrong or thrill like Drum’s Not Dead, Liars still finds the band ignoring whatever you thought you wanted or needed from them, and doing what they damn well please."

Under The Radar doesn’t buy into the accessibility hype, concluding that "Liars is only marginally easier to get into than Drum’s Not Dead." Delusions Of Adequacy loved that previous album but in comparison believes the new record to be "fragmented" (whether it is a result of the aforementioned stylistic diversity or merely poor sequencing), although still a "fantastic record." Dusted, too, finds the album lacking cohesion, but that’s just the least of its problems; the publication also faults Liars for being slight, derivative and uninspired. The Stranger is certainly not so harsh, but they do imply that the "overly produced" record is passable rather than "magical," and as a whole sounds like "a ’90s rock compilation left out to bake in the sun too long." The Wire is puzzled by many of the tracks, and Tiny Mix Tapes calls the new album "dumbed-down" compared to recent efforts.

You could accuse Liars of abandoning all of their high-art concepts and otherworldly thoughts so they could secure their place on a tour of America’s enormodomes with Interpol. Well, you could if this album wasn’t so perfect.

- Nathaniel Cramp, NME

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Plaster Casts of Everything
   
   
2. Houseclouds
3. Leather Prowler
4. Sailing To Byzantium
5. What Would They Know
6. Cycle Time
7. Freak Out
8. Pure Unevil
9. Clear Island
10. The Dumb In the Rain
11. Protection

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• Liars @ MySpace