Customer Reviews

Drum's Not Dead [Vinyl]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you've been following the career of the Liars (and who hasn't?), you probably know they started out in New York, but recently moved to Berlin. They also started out playing noisy, angular but funky post-punk on their debut album, "They Threw Us All In a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top." Album number two, 2004's "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned" boasted a different rhythm section and created a concept album about the German holiday Walpurgisnacht that was radically...different than the debut. Vaguely tribal, very arty and noisy all over, it alienated many of their fans, except for those who listen to things like Wolf Eyes for fun. You know who you are.

The new album, "Drum's Not Dead," is another sharp left turn into uncharted territory. The move to Germany seems to have been on purpose; the spirit of Krautrock bands like Can and Faust is all over this album. On the first listen it seems experimental and willfully "difficult," but repeated listens will focus things a bit. Overall it's a lot quieter than previous efforts--there are moments that recall Sigur Ros and post-"Kid A" Radiohead. Not leaving New York totally behind, other possible reference points could be Black Dice, Animal Collective and of course Sonic Youth, so when I say "quieter," I don't necessarily mean "soft." Many songs feature Japanese Taiko-style drumming and atmospheric washes of guitar. Sometimes things get noisy, but nothing that'll get you evicted. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that it's another concept album? The "story," and I use the term very loosely, revolves around a pair of characters called Mt. Heart Attack and Drum, who represent the yin/yang duality of a person. The former is stress and self-doubt and the latter is creative energy and productivity, or something like that. It's actually pretty vague and the album as a whole doesn't have any kind of operatic flow (i.e. overtures and multi-song suites), instead going for a less linear, avant-garde kind of experience. Of course, with song titles like "Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack" and "Drum and the Uncomfortable Can," there's obviously something going on.

Something like a DVD that comes with the CD, which has the entire album three different times (!), each one containing videos for all the songs. Whether or not you want to watch all of it is up to you, but you can listen to the album in an optional 5.1 mix, which really made the album come alive for me. Some of the videos make creative use of animation and even claymation, some use live and in-studio footage, and one seems to be an album-length document of a snail, which confirms that whatever else you can say about Berlin, they must have mind-blowing pot there.

All in all, "Drum's Not Dead" is a firm rebuke to the naysayers who declared the band lacked direction. If anything, they seem to have dozens of directions, and ambition to match. If the album's symbology holds any water, I guess that means Drum has beat Mt. Heart Attack. While I still prefer the noise-rock of the second album, this one is weird 'n' wild enough to choke me up like Jimi Hendrix after an all-night drug binge, and that's no lie.

Liars seem to be characterized ultimately by their extreme boldness within their own musical environment. On They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top they showed up as inovators of what one could call a very short lived period of dance punk, which seemed to morph pretty quickly into a much less experimental pop phenomeon with groups like Bloc Party and what have you.

But immediately following the great success of this album they fired their rhythm section (who have since become the group No Things, who sound much more like that first album than either of these second two Liars albums). It was an incredible bold move, and one that made the unfaithful very wary and hateful of their second album, They Were Wrong So We Drowned.

However, with Drum's Not Dead, the Liars sound seems to be congealing (hopefully not too much, i'm quite enjoying their erratic career so far) into something that can stand on its own without the context of their previous two records. Drum's is probably more similar in aesthetic to Drowned than Monument, but it definately stands on its own, and seems to be a step forward in a relatively similar direction.

There is definitely a tribal element to their rhythms on this album, and I can see some similarities to Animal Collective in their use of tons of congos and some Black Dice like drum effects. While many of the tracks have a driving rhythm, overall its too dark to be dancable like their first, but will get your head bobbing nonetheless.

The album flows as one cohesive musical piece, each track bleeding into the next, but not to a point where it all seems like one song. Lastly, the DVD full of 3 entire low budget video versions of the whole album is an amazing bonus. The video's are very fitting to the music, and the live footage in the studio is very fun to watch with the songs. One of my absolute favorite recent albums, pick it up for sure.

In a musical climate increasingly geared toward the mp3/single song format, Drum's Not Dead is an Album with a capitol A. It is a sprawling masterwork that demands total immersion, sincere consideration, and yes, some initial patience. Much like a Rothko painting, this record is about textures and subtleties, revealing a bit more of itself with every listen. Liars are minimalists who, with few tools, have achieved something both spacious and infinitely dimensional. After many listens, Drum's Not Dead eludes familiarity. It is always something new, adventurous and unashamed. Return to it now and then, and it will certainly hook you.

Having listened to this album first without having heard much about Liars, I didn't know what to expect. This album is certainly not the Gang of Four influenced music that seems popped up on their first album, this is tentative, slow moving music for the most part. It's got an edge to it, an uncertainty that is quite charming.
I must say, I wasn't too sure after listening to it once through. However, the last song saved it. "The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack" is, in my eyes, a perfect song. It's mood and implementation just fits so well, with the sighs in the background, the subtle instruments and the unnerving yet sincere lyrics. It's not the most gripping or exciting song ever, but there's something about it that works so well.
The album as a whole work less well than this final track, but its a good release nevertheless.

Everyone who gave this record a bad review will eat their words, eventually. This record is genre shattering.
Rushing to meet the future. Why are people so afraid of change? How dull would you be if you kept repeating yourself?
This record grows and grows...and it expects the listener to as well. "Pedestrian" listeners want things hand fed to them
because their attention span is so commercially castrated. I found a refreshing expansion of emotion on this record.
Every step of the way LIARS has taken me on their journey of freedom of expression.
I love when music makes me rewire my expectations of modern culture.
BRAVO LIARS.

the first liars album i heard was "they were wrong so we drowned". i fell in love with it as well as the band. the subversive style was very tripped out and the melodies were pure magic. this album, while still, actually even more trippy than the precious album, is bliss.

the first three tracks alone blend together so wonderfully it could be one song.it is very different from their first "they threw us all in a trench and stuck a monument on top" and definately the band's most abstract album yet, but imo that is what is so great about it. it is such a great space out album, perfect for listening to on headphones at 3 in the morning when you cant get sleep.

i guess i can see why people or fans of their previous work wouldn't like this cd, but i dont really care because i probably dont share the same music interest with them anyway, "one man's trash is another man's treasure", right?

i still strongly recommend it, especially if your into music that has sex with your brain.

This is one of my favorite albums of the last 10 years.
If I could give it more stars I would.
The music is heavy into percussion and synthesizer with very cool vocals.
As you can tell from the reviews, this isn't a readily accessible album.
I believe musicians and creative types will appreciate it.
It is rather genius in its own way.
I saw these guys open up for Radiohead and Tom Yorke gushed about them. Rightfully so.
If you like Hootie and the Blowfish or Jack Johnson you will hate this album.
This is a piece of art.

I caught this band a few years ago at siren fest on Coney Island, where I happened to be standing next to a fat middle aged man who, before the Liars came on, kept shouting "YEAHH! The return of the real Brooklyn rock!!" Needless to say, I was looking forward to seeing this band.
Liars came on and were extremely pretentious (no surprise there), and in my opinion.. annoying. After that show I wrote them off basically until hearing "they were wrong..." which is a tough listen but ultimately rewarding and original.
Drum's Not Dead, however, what a great release! This is the first review I've written for Amazon, and probably the last, that's how much I'm behind this one. First off, the production on this is absolutely perfect, they obviously spent a lot of time on the sonics of this record and it shows... so much so that you won't even notice when you find yourself bobbing your head wildly, that some songs don't even contain a discernable (spelling? haha) melody.. the songs just sound that good. Every track nails its mood perfectly. Hearing this is like having sex with a beautiful witch (or maybe.. warlock? ha!).

Liars are a very artistic band from New York City. They have recently moved to Berlin and expanded the sound. Five years ago they were the hippest band out of Williamsburg. They kicked a few members out of the band. They did an unconventional second record that had people scratching their heads. I saw one of their first shows in New York with the new lineup. It was bizarre. Once I heard the album, I knew it was great. A second show in Los Angeles confirmed my judgment. But still people misunderstood them. I think on this third record, the sounds are more pure. They are an artistic band with knowledge of avant-garde stuff. The music is mostly percussion and weird sounds. Angus Andrew's vocals are more musical this time too. Most of the album is part of a story. It's a concept album dealing with two characters. The album also includes three sets of videos for each song. This is probably the most unconventional album since The Fiery Furnaces last one. Liars have done a much better album that will take much time to sink in. We live in an iPod generation where everyone listens to two tracks from each album. Liars have made an album to be listened to by itself.

While a lot of the percussion is interesting, this just isn't an album that I ever want to sit and listen through all the way. I admire a lot of what the band is trying to accomplish on this album (which is why I gave it three stars overall), but I can't say I enjoy listening to all of it. So 4 stars for performance but 2 stars for likeability averages out to 3 stars.