Liars - "TFCF"

Let me tell you, in the early 2000's, the underground Post Punk Revival scene in good old NYC was pretty damn exciting.  Bands like Yeah Yeah Yeah's and of course Liars made names for themselves with wild shows and daring performances.  Liars made their debut in 2001 with "The Threw Us All In A trench and Stuck a Monument on Top", and let me tell you this album was WILD.  Fan favorites like "Mr. Your on Fire Mr" and deep cuts like the explosive "We Live NE of Compton" and half hour monolith "This Dust Makes Mud" just made this such a forceful debut.  But it also showed that artistically, Liars were just so ahead of the curve.  In 2004 though, Liars took a ballsy move and released the very noisy "They Were Wrong So We Drowned".  This album was so far from their debut in just about everywhere.  Gone were the dance punk vibes and wild performances, and they were replaced with noisy drones and monotonous performances.  There were still very intense moments, but man, this really wasn't for me overall.  Liars would return in 2006 with the much more acceptable "Drums Not Dead".  Now, while this was still a far cry from the Post Punk that got them started in the past, this was still very striking and interesting.  Liars on this one continued much more the Noise Rock and Experimental music world.  But it was much rawer and in the moment sounding, not to mention seriously exciting.  Liars showed to go back in the Post Punk direction with their 2007 self-titled album.  However, they were approaching it with a whole lot more drones and Noise Rock influence.  While this album started off a little slow, tracks like "Freak Out" and "What Would They Know" made this an album that seriously rewarded patience.  So far in Liars discography, I've never known what to truly expect from them.  Take for example 2010's "Sisterworld".  This album was a seriously bizarre turn for Liars, as on here they took their stab at truly off kilter Indie Rock.  While the end result was stunning and had me questioning a lot of what I was hearing, it wasn't all necessarily in the best way.  But because I never know what to expect from Liars, I absolutely loved 2012's "Wixiw".  This was once again a Low-Key attempt at making some less abrasive music.  But here, their weirder sounds came out which made for a Soft, Dark experimental album that I actually thought was really well done.  Then we have 2014's polarizing "Mess" album.  I certainly understand what people wouldn't like about this album, as Liars new found curiosity with Electronic's was very different for the band.  But the sheer intensity of tracks like "Pro Anti Anti" just swept me away, and I ended up loving what Liars were doing here.  So now, it's been a few years.  And these singles have been all over the damn place, but that doesn't mean anything, I may end up loving this knowing Liars.  Let's dive deeper!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afE6YXI2DIU

(The one track that got me interested in Liars)

This album starts off with “The Grand Delusional”, and to be honest, I never really know what to expect from a Liars intro.  But I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear frontman Angus humming softly over acoustic strumming.  To be honest, though, it’s actually doing a hell of a job at creating an atmosphere.  His vocals just sound so bruised and hurt, which is something we don’t often hear from him.  Overall, this is an intro I really didn’t expect to hear.  But It’s far from bad, I think it sets the very hurt tone of this album very well.  Not to mention, just hearing Angus in this very bare environment is something I’m not used to at all.  Even when those drums and that beat come in, this is seriously hypnotic.  Then we have “Cliché Suite”, which is literally a complete 360.  I don’t think I’ve honestly heard a more cheery and peppy track from Liars.  It’s very vibrant sounding and almost comes off as some royal march of sorts.  But it’s certainly very triumphant, with some Indie Rock inflections thrown in here and there.  But Angus’s very dreary performance that he’s perfected over the years brings this down a couple of pegs to say the very least.  It’s a really bizarre track that I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear.   But what can one ever truly expect from a Liars album?  Don't you worry though, the second half of this track is a noisy and experimental house of horrors just like Liars have given us plenty of times.  While I certainly dig “Cliché Suite”, it’s out there man.  Then we have “Staring At Zero”, and one thing I do continue to appreciate is the grooves.  This one has a very late 90’s Nine Inch Nails vibe to this.  Just hearing such a nice groove on a Liars track is nice enough in my book.  But sadly, overall I’m really not into Angus’s performance on this one.  To be honest, I actually sort of sells himself a little short on this one, even lyrically.  But I do still sort of enjoy this one, mostly due to the very dreary and industrial vies to this, and that wonderful pacing.  Not to mention, those very haunting vocals in the background come off music more than Liars intended, I’m sure of it.  “Staring At Zero” isn’t bad, but I wish Angus’s performance was just a little more interesting.  Then we have “No Help Pamphlet”, which once again brings in more live instrumentation and more of an Indie Vibe.  This honestly sounds like Neutral Milk Hotel or some other late 90’s Psych Folk band if they were put through a trash compactor.  To be honest, though, I actually sort of love it.  Angus’s very bizarre vocals actually work really well with this Freaky Folk jam.  There’s a bizarre mysticism to this all, that honestly really shouldn’t work.  But it doesn't, and it’s great, and honestly, it gives this track a human feel.  And as “No Help Pamphlet” goes on and those backing instrumentals pop in, things just get bigger.  While this is a brilliant track for Liars, that last monologue is just a bit depressing guys, sorry.  

    As the album moves on things get much more abrasive and experimental with “Face to Face With My Face”.  The atmosphere on this one is just so massive and in your face.  Instantly, we’re thrown right back to some of Liars’ more noisy moments from over the years.  And I’m sure Liars fans are going to be so happy to hear this one.  But for me, this is just a sound that they’ve outgrown.  It’s not nearly as frantic and explosive as some of their early work, and it’s not as interestingly structured either.  “Face To Face With My Face” just ends up being a gloopy mess.  It has potential in that great atmosphere, but overall this just doesn’t cut it for me.  The absolutely hulking atmosphere of this album continues onto “Emblems of Another Story”, with the intro of this one being painfully quiet and filled with ambient sounds.  To be honest, as far as THAT goes, Liars do a great job with this.  But then those sort of goofy keyboards come in and I’d be lying if I said I had any clue what Angus was going for.  This atmosphere, however, remains untouchable.  But I continue to be really confused by “Emblems Of Another Story”  That half-assed, sluggish synth tune over everything isn’t doing anyone any favors.  Honestly, I would have so much rather heard Angus alone in this atmosphere, because this track certainly has a strong base to it.  For example, when those later instrumentals come in and make this track meatier, it’s not just Angus Vs. Synth anymore and things improve massively.  Hell, things get so much better that I end up not completely hating this overall.  But “Emblems of Another Story” could have easily been shortened and cut out that entire opening phase.  But Liars continue to throw us curveballs with “No Tree No Branch”.  As soon as this one hits, I’m blown away.  This track is once again very upbeat, with some elements of Indie Rock as well as some Folk in those fiery plucking’s.  “No Tree No Branch” is totally different than the last few tracks with some of Angus’s more coherent lyrics as well as a peppy atmosphere.  It’s also one of the most Post-Punk tracks that we’ve heard so far.  It’s intense, it’s sort of goofy, and it’s a real shock to anyone who thinks Liars are totally out of ideas.  It’s also strangely catchy, which we don’t get to say too much about Liars.  Then we have “Cred Woes” which takes us back to the noisier and Post Punk sound of Liars.  Now, any fan of their “Mess” album will instantly be into this.  The booming bass and the abrasive atmosphere of this is the stuff that got Liars famous, to begin with.  And as far as that goes, I can certainly appreciate that.  But the vocals again sort of bring this down for me.  And while I’m well aware that Angus has made a career out of these very monotonous vocals, I just wish these were a little more lively.  However, for an aggressive tune from Liars, this is certainly not as bad as it could have been, and it’s nice to hear them in such an angry environment.  

    Now, for my money, if you’re going to go for a more aggressive and wild track here, go for “Coins In My Caged Fist”.  This track is so twisted and abrasive sounding that you can barely tell what’s even hitting you.  And honestly, it’s those elements that drew me to Liars in the early years.  It’s just so intense between this very eclectic beat and this much more will performance from Angus.  I also love just how swirling and outrageous some of this atmosphere, as it attacks you from all sides.  As far as this side of Liars goes, there’s nothing but great things to say about this track.  But every time I feel like Angus gets in a groove, he gets overwhelmed by this very melancholy mood. that we really haven’t heard from Liars in a while.  That’s exactly what we get on “Ripe Ripe Rot”.  As far as the atmosphere on this one goes, there’s nothing wrong with this tune at all.  Just the opposite actually, I can't help but get sucked in and feel Angus’s pain.  But this is certainly going to alienate a LOT of Liars fans the way that this is just such a dreary and sad album.  And then we have “Crying Fountain”, our finale here.  It’s barely even a song, it’s more of a sound collage.  Once again, I actually think Liars are really onto something though with this atmosphere, because this one is seriously twisted and almost beautiful.  As far as I’m concerned, this is a decent Liars album.  But it could have been so much better if it was a little longer and stayed in one particular mood. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Give A Listen To: “The Grand Delusional”, “No Help Pamphlet”, “No Tree No Branch”, “Coins In My Caged Fists”

Genre: Experimental / Post Punk / Art Rock

If You Dig This, Check Out: Xiu Xiu - “Forget”, Liars - Basically their entire Discography, it’s all over the place, Viet Cong - “Viet Cong”

Overall Thoughts:  This is actually a pretty decent release from Liars, considering this is basically a one man show at this point.  However, I feel like as a whole this album has almost a personality disorder.  There are seriously somber moments with great atmospheres, and there are upbeat and sort of Indie tunes thrown in as well.  And of coursse, some noisy post punk tunes that have made Liars famous for years.  However, I feel like this is almost done to a fault.  This album switches up it's mood so much that it comes off a little sloppy, and there were plenty of times where I wish that one certain emotion would stick around for longer.