[.ca] They Threw Us All In A Trench

This is PURE CHAOS, so shake your booty already!:
It's wide open for you, and quietly awaiting your entrance, as four imaginary boys pound on their chests and on their guitar strings, not particularly caring if you're listening, but if you're there, screw you anyhow. The guitar chords will continue to scratch and sing to their own divided melodies no matter what you do, so you might as well accept the Liars for who and what they are: liars. They will always be this way, and they've had enough of you for dissenting. Just turn on their damn music and boogie down. Certainly, it's not the highest art (or perhaps it is, and the wool has merely been pulled over our eyes), the Liars succeed in the way that Coleman's "Free Jazz" succeeded: by creating complete and utter chaos around the listeners ears. What seem to be cohesive riffs soon turn into some other form of utter nothingness, and you are merely comforted perhaps by a few electronic skitters, or by a voice, telling you, as always, to WAKE UP. They've got their finger on the pulse of America, and who would let go? Smart-arsed and ready to blow your mind, the Liars have crafted a fine work. Despite its seemingly amelodic intentions, there manages to be fine examples of melody in songs such as "We live NE of Compton" and "Grown men dont fall in the river, just like that." And then, of course, there are songs you can endlessly dance to, such as "Mr your on fire Mr." They even manage to find a moment of quiet daring on "Why Midnight walked but didn't ring her bell," though, clocking in at 59 seconds, it can only be considered a "moment." And then there's "this dust makes that mud"... which is primarily the defining point in the record, either making you a Liars fan or a detractor. The song itself runs on for a good eight minutes, and suddenly, the Liars decide to leave the studio for a while (perhaps for some coffee... who knows?) and leave the tape (and the 4-second loop) running for 22 more minutes. Call it overlong, call it masturbatory, call it testing their limits. All I know is, if I stop in the middle of the damn loop and switch CDs, I feel strangely incomplete. And that's how they want you to feel. Or they don't care, and it's really a joke. All that matters is whether you "get it" or not. I don't get it, but somehow I love it anyhow. Because even if it is a joke, it is a joke made with somewhat rebellious intentions, and far be it for me to love music on its rebellious nature, but that's what I find myself doing with this album. It remains the perfect soundtrack of chaos and destruction, a breaking down of borders. It's been done before, but who said we didn't need it again?

Sorry...I tried...I really did.....:
After reading the reviews for this album and hearing about it over and over from friends, I decided I would buy it and give it a listen. It seemed to be right up my alley....I am usually very pleased with anything that comes out on mute....So I listened...and listened and listened...I really wanted to like this disc...I tried....I really did...but this is so awfull...so boring...so completely unoriginal....Its been done 100 times before by better...much better...but then it wouldnt be too hard for anyone to do better than this....an excruciatingly painful listen...no redeeming quality what so ever. These guys need to stop mimicing their influences and have an independant thought or two..then give it another go.

No, you're not Gang of Four:
Brothers and sisters, there's a new sound rattling the streets of our beloved city. It's the sound of punk-funk revolution, returning the indie crowd to the glory days of John Lydon's Public Image Ltd. and Nick Cave's The Birthday Party. The genre is a distant cousin of electro-clash (which is now officially so ten minutes ago in indie circles), an incendiary mold of hardcore, avant-punk dynamics and pounding disco rhythms. It's like a bizarre orgy involving seminal 70s punk group Wire and seminal 70s disco superstar Donna Summer. In one corner of the ring, we have damaged poets Liars. Their debut LP, They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top is a career-opening manifesto. Every single barked lyric is a fiery salvo, and likewise every single thrashed drumbeat is phlegm, spat into the face of anyone who doesn't care. Anyone who doesn't understand. Opening track "Grown Men Don't Fall Into the River, Just Like That" (behold the massively pretentious song titles) begins with a bit of murmuring about how everybody needs a hobby. Or something like that. But this is merely foreplay and the track quickly explodes into a thunderous, pounding rhythm. Then, singer Angus Andrew (who is actually Australian) brings out the bomb - "We've got our fingers on the pulse of America!" he squeals, perhaps overoptimistically considering the recent Republican takeover of our country. From there on, it just gets better. The record is equal parts earsplitting guitar noise, chunky funky bass and (gasp) danceable drum parts. "We Live NE of Compton" is a startlingly malicious piece of punk which seems to be grabbing the listener by the throat, shoving him against the wall and proceeding to beat the living daylights out of him. Then, it suddenly all ends, and Angus mournfully whispers "the city loves you." Wow. Despite all this, easily the best moment on the record is when they unleash the synthesizers and go into full-blown Gang of Four style with "Mr. You're On Fire Mr." It's ridiculously catchy, computerized drum beats and silly "ooo--weee-oooh" sounds popping up where it sounds like guitar should be. In what is perhaps a nod to Nirvana, it begins with the soon to be immortal line "Do the twist!" before dissolving into an incredible call-and-response chorus. However, all is not well in Liars' world. The record at times falls into self-indulgence - witness the 20 minute repeated loop that closes out final track "This Dust Makes That Mud." Also, while Angus and crew have agitprop grooves down-pat, they have not yet mastered the art of song writing. "Loose Nuts on the Veladrome," while powerful, holds the promise of highs that it does not attain due to the lack of nuance throughout the song. These quibbles aside however, They Threw Us In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top is a promising document from a band that you know will keep on getting better. For now, it's enough to make us dance and think at the same time - and in these troubled times, what more could you ask for?

Music Good, Vocal Dull:
Bass-driven punkadelica, let down by repetitious vocal performance. John Lydon, in much the same territory, manages something 10 times more vibrant. Or maybe he (Liar#1) just needs to stand closer to the mike and yell less. See We Regazzi\sMake Up instead. The music is great though.

A grating record, but it is short.:
Can't say anything positive about this album. A real disappointment, considering the glowing reviews I've seen here and elsewhere. I had to struggle to listen to this one all the way through; one noisy song follows another, with no discernable differences in mood, tempo, or shrill-factor. Only the last track got my attention: it started off like the other songs, only to suddenly repeat itself for the last 20 minutes or so (I thought the disc was sticking, or my equipment fouled up.) Liars, next time try polishing the sound up, at least a little bit. You don't have to sound like you recorded your music in a garage in one take, even if that WAS the case. But hey, love the song titles.

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