Liars are nothing if not different. The problem has been that their wilful subversion has led to alienating potential listeners. Certainly they've laid any accusations of being part of the punk/funk crowd firmly to rest but they've yet to make a truly great album, until now. For 'Drum's Not Dead' is not only their boldest album but also their best.
Drums are high on the agenda here with a twin percussion attack and considering there are only three members of Liars, their effect is huge. At times the intensity of the sound rivals both the experimentation and air of doom of 70s experimentalists Can and This Heat (just take a listen to the atonal 'Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack'). Undeterred by the avalanche in sound, Andrew Angus is on his best form whether it's an unhinged falsetto or evil chanting that's called for. Throughout, the New York trio manage to expand the possibilities of this apparently limited sound base with some genuinely thrilling songs. On a very complete, cohesive album, standouts include the queasily beautiful opener 'Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack', stunning single 'It Fit When I Was A Kid' and the unusually sparse but deeply unsettling 'The Wrong Coat For You Mt. Heart Attack'. Special mention also for the accompanying DVD which provides not one but three visual accompaniments to the whole album; one of these, bizarrely, features a snail but the main video sees the band members in live, cat, bird and plasticine form and looking every bit as disturbing as the music they make. So finally, Liars prove that their mad invention can lead to insanely good results.