Liars - Sisterworld
Liars first emerged with 2002’s “They Threw Us In a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top” a fuzzy debut, aping The Strokes and The Rapture, with obvious Gang of Four and PiL inspiration. It was warmly greeted but their longevity was unquestionable - there wasn’t any. Fast forward through two albums of almost Radiohead-level experimentation (2004’s “They Were Wrong So We Drowned” and 2006’s classic “Drum’s Not Dead”) and Liars were rightly being recognised as one of the most inventive and exciting bands in the world. True to form for the ever-surprising trio, 2007 saw them release an album of unexpected straightforwardness, “Liars”, sacrificing atmosphere for power. The stage was set for “Sisterworld”, fans and critics alike debating just which element of their sound would form the basis for their newest album...
...The astonishing and utterly impressive answer: all of them. “Sisterworld” combines depth with urgency, irreverence with passion and still manages to accommodate four albums worth of Liars’ trademarks, each slightly twisted into its “Sisterworld” form. Opener “Scissor” is already one of 2010’s landmark tracks, taking an unexpectedly heartfelt choral opening and Nick Cave-ish croon and dashing it against the rocks of a discordant explosion only to return it to the grace of a quiet trembling verse, for a final sudden descent into a thrashing, screaming end. “I was supposed to save her now, but my hands were freaking out” are lyrics of unusual directness for Liars, and the song makes for a harrowing tale, even before the sonic chaos. It proves the prefect introduction to an album that twists and turns but always in the most unsettling of movements. “Scarecrows On A Killer Slant” was written about vocalist, Angus Andrew, witnessing a shooting on the LA Streets of the neighbourhood he was living in. An insistent rhythm, crushing synths and a wall of noise reminiscent of A Place to Bury Strangers soundtrack the psychotic plotting of “Nail their thumbs to the wall... Kill them all”. Elsewhere “Proud Evolution” wouldn’t look out of place on their dance/punk debut and meandering trips like “Drip” and “Drop Dead” would fit seamlessly into either their second or third offerings. The other standout tracks “No Barrier Fun” and “Here Comes All the People” are variations on the grim atmospherics, but still manage to restrain their sprawl to a climatic end.
Curiously for an album presumed to propose an alternative experience altogether, the promised “Sisterworld”, it comes nowhere near being an escapist album, offering no getaway whatsoever. It seems determined, almost desperate, for the listener to see modern life as a warped dystopia, a place of failure, alienation and degradation. The dim glow of a parked car’s headlights becomes an accident waiting to happen, a pyre to that inevitability. Any argument becomes a fatal confrontation. Throughout all eleven tracks lies a rabid paranoia, with a schizophrenic frenzy between violent disgust and terrified isolationism. Liars have made “Sisterworld” almost a catalyst to spark the notion that everything is not OK, it becomes a window on this accelerated decline. The truth is though, it’s done with such aplomb, commitment and atmosphere that it is impossible not to be compelled into looking.