Release Date: June 5th, 2012
Reviewed By Court Smoots
The beat on Liars new record WIXIW seems to be continual from beginning to end, making it feel as though there’s a rhythmic hum linking each of the songs. The constant rattle starts with the records opening track “The Exact Color Of Doubt” which is backed by a series of soft handclaps and a distant drum, and continues all the way through to the song “Brats” which with it’s feverent beat and ultra fast tempo makes you feel as though you need to hop in your car and drive somewhere… fast.
WIXIW is a return to the Liars of old, a band who held my attention and admiration early on after hearing their landmark record Drums Not Dead. It’s not that their past two efforts, a self-titled release in 2007 and Sisterworld in 2010 weren’t good, they just weren’t this good. This record just has a much more impactful feel, never more evident then on the albums title track “WIXIW” which with it’s machine gun beat and droney key, mixes well with Angus Andrews piercing vocals to strike right to the heart.
Liars are a bit of a nomadic band, often drifting from city to city every couple of years, switching up their lineup (now exclusively a three-piece) and their sound on each record. Settling in Los Angeles for the time being, I can’t help but wonder if the ever laid back environment of the gold coast is what has led to the mellow feel carried throughout the majority of the record. Songs like “Ill Valley Prodigies” with its Clydesdales gallop beat and campfire guitar almost sooths you to sleep, while “His And Mine Sensations” mixes an innumerable amount of vocals with an almost aquatic mash of instruments to make you feel as though you’re floating away out to sea.
Maybe Liars will stay put this time and make a couple of records in Californ-eye-aye, maybe not. Honestly, if they keep turning out records like this one, I don’t care where they lay their heads at night.
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