IN REVIEW: Liars - "TFCF"

Liars' seventh record is essentially a solo record by Angus Andrew, considering he's the only remaining founding member of the group and recorded TFCF on his own in his native Australia. As such, there's a perhaps unsurprising level of solitude to be heard in these songs; while the unpredictability that's kept Liars so intriguing over the last fifteen years is more or less intact and there are more than a few twists and turns to be heard, TFCF is also perhaps the most isolated and subdued record in the Liars discography.

It's surely a pretty stark turn away from the experimental electro-shock of previous records WIXIW and Mess, as acoustic guitars and field recordings play a large part in the proceedings. Atmospheric moments such as the cacophonous spaghetti western-tinged Cliché Suite and the nocturnal, gothic centerpiece Emblems of Another Story are as common as uptempo, warped dance numbers like lead single Cred Woes or Coins In My Caged Fist.

Throughout, there's a stubborn sense of restlessness in that, as many directions as Liars have pulled their sound to this point, TFCF can't seem to settle in one place. This is abundantly clear when hearing experiments like the tender Modest Mouse-like No Help Pamphlet and current single No Tree No Branch, which bounces along like the weird cousin of Transplants' Diamonds & Guns. To be sure, Liars have always been impossible to pigeonhole, but this time out there are a lot of ideas clamoring for your attention; while it makes for a consistently engaging listen (and, at 38 minutes, never really gets the chance to overstay its welcome), there's very little consistency in the tracklist itself.

That's not to say that Liars have lost much of anything that's tangible to the essential experience, as Angus Andrew has undoubtedly been the main driving force behind this unpredictable career arc. More to the point, TFCF is the first album where he is forced to pilot and navigate simultaneously, so there's bound to be a little turbulence along the way. Having said that, if you've followed Liars this far, chances are good that you'll want to remain a passenger wherever this thing goes from here.

August 25, 2017 • Mute
Highlights Emblems of Another Story • Cred Woes • Coins In My Caged Fist