They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top (CD)
This Mute Records reissue of the shocking debut album from NYC-based LIARS combines raucous dance, hip-hop, and punk beats for high-energy heart-and-soul fire-eating that, somehow, morphs into song. Pat Noecker, bassist for the defunct group Opium Taylor, and Ron Albertson, former drummer of Mercy Rule, seduce the rhythms like veins looking for blood. Their body-shaking beats are purged through the jagged and sordid melodies of Aaron Hemphill on guitar, who screamed his way through LA punk formations Phil's Throne & Viral Index before hitchhiking to New York with friend and Ozzie-esque Liars frontman, Angus [beef].
This six-foot-six Australian rants like some kinda punk-rock basketball coach, calling plays from the book of Jobe (his inspiration drawn from nights spent living at Nick Cave's in Notting Hill). Producer Steve Revitt -- best known for his work with The Beastie Boys and John Spencer -- refines the monstrous chaos of Liars' live shows into a can't-control-yourself listening experience. People say they sound like P.I.L making love to The Birthday Party, but the band would prefer it if you just bought the record and jiggled your hind.
| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | Grown Men Don't Fall in the River, Just Like That |
| 2 | Mr. Your on Fire Mr. |
| 3 | Loose Nuts on the Velandrome |
| 4 | Garden Was Crowded and Outside |
| 5 | Tumbling Walls Buried Me in the Debris With Esg |
| 6 | Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend |
| 7 | We Live NE of Compton |
| 8 | Why Midnight Walked But Didn't Ring Her Bell |
| 9 | This Dust Makes That Mud |
| Julius
- emor, , Empire |
| Since I am trapped in the jaws of the hype machine, and though I don't actually own this recording, I must still give this the status of the unequivocal "must-have". No, I don't know what they sound like ( I know what they look like and that's assuredly half the package), but I am so inundated with information preceding the actual listening experience, and manically force-fed the journalistic deconstruction of the album, that the reality of it, the crux, the very essence of the the songs become superfluous--a mere side-bar to the heaps of magazine articles. In the end, the overall picture of the album is not fleshed out by the band, but by third-rate writers that, being creatively impotent and lacking lucid understanding of the emotional impact of a recording, regurgitate the exact same tripe again and again--insidious beasts sharing meat and blood to blur bands, styles, and idiosyncrasies. That's all I can write; I'm late for my goddamn bus! | |
| tyler
- portland, OR, USA |
| this is a really good record. the songs on it are fabulous. the only thing is that the guitars kind of sound wimpy sometimes. if you've ever seen them live the production is quite a bit of a turn-off because they're so fucking AMAZING live, but the strength of the songs is enough on it's own to carry the record. they could've recorded these songs on a boombox and the songs would've still kicked ass. buy this record! or if you don't want to do that definitely go see them play- they are amazing and not to be missed! | |