Very few bands have the potential to continually get better with each new release. We all know how it is – a band releases an awesome demo and then never puts out anything to rival it (say what you will, but at the time, Turn on the Bright Lights was pretty damn good). Or a band puts out something really good, but the subsequent releases never get any better, it’s just the same recycled shit over and over again (hello Daft Punk. Hello Daft Punk. Hello Daft…oh I’m sorry, was I being repetitive?). Or an artist just sucks and they continue to suck until you are consumed with hatred (I swear to god, Devendra Banhart had better not procreate). It’s a rare quality, this continual evolution of talent, and one that I respect very much. And I respect next to nothing (seriously, ask anyone), so it’s kind of a big deal. My point is, Liars possess this quality. To put it accurately and eloquently, Liars are fucking awesome. Period.

Liars is the ultimate chameleon, in that the band can skillfully incorporate a variety of genres into the music without losing any uniqueness whatsoever. On this new self-titled album, you hear everything from a straight up homage to Psychocandy-era The Jesus and Mary Chain (“Freak Out”), the obvious influence of late 60’s/early 70’s Krautrock (“Pure Unevil”), some serious fucking metal (“Plaster Casts of Everything”), classic rock (“Clear Island”), and some sort of devil funk that makes me think of Beck with tons more testosterone (“Houseclouds”). Liars seem to absorb awesomeness from well-chosen influences, then mix in a heavy dose of their own touch (which could be described as, say, dancable noise punk with an attitude problem), add some glitch drone and feedback and there you have it. To me, this element of craft, combined with the constant evolution of Liars own unique sound, pretty much makes the band one of the more talented and interesting groups in the music scene right now.

Plenty of naysayers have condemned Liars for essentially ripping off other bands while simultaneously being purposely difficult and overly high-concept, but I don’t understand why that’s a bad thing. If anything, this record is more accessible than the previous three, with far more attention paid to song-craft. Programming the band members’ influences into the music is just something that has to be done. That’s how art works. It’s about paying attention to yesterday’s geniuses and using your own talent to build on what they’ve done, thereby creating something new. The future can’t happen without the past. This is called progress, people. Growth. Liars embody this concept, all the while making an abrasively awesome racket that only a hardcore music geek (i.e. a person with good taste) could love.

Release date: August 28, 2007
Label: Mute

Rating: 8.5/10

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