Ever since their debut in 2001 with They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, predicting the next step for Brooklyn's Liars has been as easy as listening to 2004's polarising They Were Wrong, So We Drowned. Zing! (Just kidding, I'm actually one of the seemingly few that stood by their incoherent attempt at the "concept album.") The career-defining, tribal assault of last year's Drum's Not Dead found them back on track with the disappointed, and now here they are only one year later, prepping for their upcoming self-titled fourth album (due August 28 on Mute) with what can easily be labelled their first real foray into pop-song structures. Of course, it is Liars, so nothing's that straight and simple. But in their bizarro world, this is a frenetic stab at the rock'n'roll anthem. The tinny guitars unleash a series of oscillating metal riffs, while the drums bleed out from some seriously pounded skins. Perhaps the most valuable component is the falsetto clinic that Angus Andrews' inimitable chops present for the hook-stuffed verses. As different as it sounds, it's still twisted business as usual and most certainly reeks of what we know and love as Liars.
Liars "Plaster Casts of Everything"
Liars "Plaster Casts of Everything"
