Mute
For 13 years now post-everything band Liars have continually created albums that sound nothing alike yet still sound like Liars. From the spazzy dance-punk of their 2001 debut They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top to 2012’s electronic-dabbling WIXIW nothing’s ever been the same. In true fashion Mess doesn’t snap the streak.
After “discovering” and learning electronic programming on WIXIW you could say that with Mess the L.A.-based trio have built their very own idea of an EDM record. Of course in their universe this means opening with a demonically disguised voice demanding you to “Take my pants off / Use my socks / Smell my socks / Eat my face off / Take my face / Give me your face…” before dropping into a big beat right out of 1997.
The first half of the album is peppered with bangers and in typical Liars fashion it hoodwinks the listener. After the hysterically anthemic “Mess On A Mission” Mess takes a left turn spiralling into a murky abyss of droning down-tempo that is both offsetting and unexpectedly settling on album closer “Left Speaker Blown.”
With Mess Liars have reinvented themselves for the seventh time while simultaneously preserving their tradition of making an album as bonkers challenging and enjoyable as the last. We are so lucky to have them.
