SOUND BITES

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 . Througho...

If there's one thing you can take away from Liars no matter your level of adoration for them, it's that they don't like to stay in one place for too long. Over the course of their six previous albums, they've explored off-kilter angular dance rock, experimental haunted ambience, psychedelic noise rock and paranoid electronic detours. Which is why, at first blush, it's a little disappointing to hear that their seventh album continues to explore the electronics they gave the reins to on 2012's WIXIW . However, after a spin of Mess , it seems like a necessary extension of those WIXIW experiments, like the previous album was a dark closet Liars looked into but didn't bother trying on too many of the outfits within. Mess gleefully mashes instruments and effects together under meaty beats; organs, guitars and strings all get their due, though this is primarily an electronic album. The most exciting thing about Mess is its playfulness; whereas WIXIW seemed co...

I didn't want to call this article the "worst", as that implies that the soulless, mindless drivel some bands have been trying to pass off as music is somehow better than the trio of bands singled out here; that's not the case. If I haven't talked about (insert random shitty synthpop and/or bro-rock band here) in 2012, it's because I simply don't care enough about them to sit through their songs, let alone write about them. This article is a chance to talk about three bands which have qualities I actually admire; it just so happened they, surprisingly or not so much, released albums I had at least moderate expectations for and found myself sad, shocked and/or disgusted at the lack of quality they brought in 2012.

Since the flow of actual, exciting rock music news is sort of slow lately, and since I don't want the old blog to stagnate, I figured I'd take this opportunity to point you toward some album streams.  This way, I get "blog post" ticked off the to-do list, and you get to listen to some tunes.  Deal?

Whispers in recent weeks spoke of the next album by Liars; more specifically, that it had been recorded and was coming soon.  Well, the wait is nearly over for fans of the New York avant-garde punk/rock/freak rockers.  They've christened their sixth album WIXIW and set it for a June release.  Of course, what good is announcing a new album without a taste of what's to come?  Soundcloud has a stream of first single No. 1 Against the Rush , which I've helpfully linked to right here for your amusement and/or bewilderment. After such genre-busting headtrips as They Were Wrong So We Drowned and Drum's Not Dead , there's pretty much nothing Liars can do that would shock me now.  And yet, with this new single, they've certainly surprised.  Having apparently tired of their foray into more straightforward rock territory, Liars have practically kicked guitars to the curb and taken a left turn down Electric Avenue.  The fury present in much if their first d...

Reminds Me Of: A dash of The Strokes, a pinch of Red Hot Chili Pepper's (late 80's version), a teaspoon of Radiohead, set to mulch. High On: * The manic delievery of nearly every note. * The subtle electronics which, in addition to earning a Radiohead comparison, make for a much more interesting listen. * The undeniable groove found on most of the album... it's art-rock you can shake your ass to. * The sheer creepiness of closing track "This Dirt Makes That Mud". * The undisputed creativity of the titles: in addition to the 13-word album title, Liars also throw in Goddamnable song titles like "Tumbling Walls Buried Me In The Debris With ESG" and "Nothing Is Ever Lost Or Can Be Lost My Science Friend". However, my personal favorite is "Grown Men Don't Fall In The River, Just Like That". Low On: * The album's length: sure, it's over 50 minutes long, but 22 of those minutes are taken up with a singular, continu...