Album: Drum's Not Dead
Artist: Liars
Born: Brooklyn, New York
Released: February 2006
Genre: Art Rock
Experimental rock can sometimes leave me a little cold. I'm always deeply suspicious of people that profess a love for Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, for instance; there's an automatic response in many music snobs to go for music that most people would find too "difficult". Liars definitely fall within that definition. Their sound is nigh impossible to pin down, evolving from the dance rock of Stuck A Monument (2001) to the sinister noise of They Were Wrong (2004), the experimental percussion of Drum’s Not Dead and the Sonic Youth-inspired no wave of Sisterworld (2010). I've warmed to their first records over the years, but it's their third LP that remains comfortably my favourite Liars release. All three early albums have highly experimental closing tracks that remind me of early Pink Floyd (from the 30mins of This Dust Makes That Mud to the ambient noise at the end of Flow My Tears The Spider Said, which is reminiscent of Grantchester Meadows). This art rock approach defined various New York bands in the middle of the last decade. Liars were part of the same Williamsburg, Brooklyn music scene as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV On The Radio, sharing more than just musical connections; Liars' lead singer Angus Andrew was romantically connected to Karen O, while TVOTR’s David Sitek produced They Were Wrong and Karen O directed a Liars video. The clip below is part of the By Your Side short directed by filmmaker Markus Wambsganss that featured on the DVD released along with Drum's Not Dead.
Liars began the recording of Drum's Not Dead in late 2004 in Berlin and it's easy to draw a connection between the experimental drum sounds on the album and Can's wild syncopation and krautrock's motorik beat. Another key element to the record's sound is Andrew's voice, a falsetto that's often as highly processed as the drum sounds. Guitars only play a supporting role compared to the drums and vocals. Right from the opening track, Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack!, the drumming has a tribal feel that's reminiscent of the avant-garde fury and unhinged creativity of post-punk. Liars have said the album's underlying concept is a tussle between two fictional characters: Drum (confident, creative and upbeat) and Mt. Heart Attack (gloomy, apprehensive and full of self-doubt), giving the album a schizophrenic feel. After the strong opening, the album has a more ambient, Eno-inspired feel in the middle section, followed by more abstract pieces near the end. The real standout is the closing track, The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack, which packs a powerful emotional punch, while Drum and the Uncomfortable Can is full of primal energy and has a sound inspired by the guitar reverb of My Bloody Valentine. As with many Liars albums, there's a tendency for the music to drift off at times into tuneless dirges, but on Drum's Not Dead these moments are minimal and the rhythmic intensity helps to propel things along.
Experimental rock can sometimes leave me a little cold. I'm always deeply suspicious of people that profess a love for Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, for instance; there's an automatic response in many music snobs to go for music that most people would find too "difficult". Liars definitely fall within that definition. Their sound is nigh impossible to pin down, evolving from the dance rock of Stuck A Monument (2001) to the sinister noise of They Were Wrong (2004), the experimental percussion of Drum’s Not Dead and the Sonic Youth-inspired no wave of Sisterworld (2010). I've warmed to their first records over the years, but it's their third LP that remains comfortably my favourite Liars release. All three early albums have highly experimental closing tracks that remind me of early Pink Floyd (from the 30mins of This Dust Makes That Mud to the ambient noise at the end of Flow My Tears The Spider Said, which is reminiscent of Grantchester Meadows). This art rock approach defined various New York bands in the middle of the last decade. Liars were part of the same Williamsburg, Brooklyn music scene as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV On The Radio, sharing more than just musical connections; Liars' lead singer Angus Andrew was romantically connected to Karen O, while TVOTR’s David Sitek produced They Were Wrong and Karen O directed a Liars video. The clip below is part of the By Your Side short directed by filmmaker Markus Wambsganss that featured on the DVD released along with Drum's Not Dead.
Liars began the recording of Drum's Not Dead in late 2004 in Berlin and it's easy to draw a connection between the experimental drum sounds on the album and Can's wild syncopation and krautrock's motorik beat. Another key element to the record's sound is Andrew's voice, a falsetto that's often as highly processed as the drum sounds. Guitars only play a supporting role compared to the drums and vocals. Right from the opening track, Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack!, the drumming has a tribal feel that's reminiscent of the avant-garde fury and unhinged creativity of post-punk. Liars have said the album's underlying concept is a tussle between two fictional characters: Drum (confident, creative and upbeat) and Mt. Heart Attack (gloomy, apprehensive and full of self-doubt), giving the album a schizophrenic feel. After the strong opening, the album has a more ambient, Eno-inspired feel in the middle section, followed by more abstract pieces near the end. The real standout is the closing track, The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack, which packs a powerful emotional punch, while Drum and the Uncomfortable Can is full of primal energy and has a sound inspired by the guitar reverb of My Bloody Valentine. As with many Liars albums, there's a tendency for the music to drift off at times into tuneless dirges, but on Drum's Not Dead these moments are minimal and the rhythmic intensity helps to propel things along.
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