Liars - 'Drum's Not Dead' (Mute) Released 20/02/06

As you may already know, Liars aren’t your average band. With ‘Drum’s Not Dead’, their third long-player, the New York trio subvert the norm even further to create an album of almost alien soundscapes that constantly challenge the listener. Devoid of cohesive songwriting structures, it’s a volatile and unpredictable journey into their off-kilter, near nonsensical psyche. To confound us all yet further, it’s also a concept album based on fictional characters ‘Drum’ and ‘Mount Heart Attack’ – two disparate entities with the former representing ‘the spirit of creative confidence’ and the latter embodying ‘stress and self-doubt’. Hmm, no us neither. Trés pretentious then, on paper the album may seem nightmarish, and it’s no doubt the embodiment of everything traditional singer/songwriters despise, yet given time there’s something innately human and even beautiful about this work.

As the name suggests, ‘Drum’s Not Dead’ is driven by the pulsating rhythm of the drum - an almost relentless instrument that’s the heartbeat of the album. Ominous opener ‘Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack’ is no exception, beginning with swathes of almost Godspeed YBE-esque orchestral static, before a lone drum tolls and high-pitched vocals come into the fray. And that’s about it. Recorded uninterrupted by track breaks, we’re then thrown into the claustrophobic ‘Let’s Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack’ with a yell, before the brooding, pulsating ‘A Visit From Drum’ bewilders further.

It’s only the onset of the minimal ‘Drum Gets A Glimpse’ that any hint of melody is brought in. A gorgeous brass movement bounces off forlorn vocals and hushed cymbals to surprisingly stunning effect, qualities it shares with later tracks like the xylophone plonks of the portentous ‘The Wrong Coat For You Mt. Heart Attack’ - a title nearly as absurd as some of the album’s lyrics. Later, we’re bombarded with the most outright weird and arguably weakest section of the album, with ‘It’s All Blooming Now Mt Heart Attack’ which is basically a few minutes of a droning electronic noise and the highly repetitive drum crashes and chanting of ‘Drum and the Uncomfortable Can.’ Experimental yes, but surely only the staunchest of Liars aficionado would truly be won over by it.

Yet for each dark paranoid track, there’s also a moment of startling splendour. ‘You Drum’ strips away the fear and introduces that most strange of instruments - the guitar - to create another beautiful moment. Of course, this is soon overshadowed by the menace of ‘To Hold You Drum.’ Strange. Very much the light at the end of the tunnel, the striking ‘The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack’ finishes things off, an unadulterated, simple ditty that in its own unassuming way is arguably the best thing Liars have ever done.   

As if the album wasn’t enough, Liars have also made three separate film versions as a DVD, directed respectively by each members of the band, with 36 individual videos in total. Very arty as you’d expect, we could go into a critique of the debatable quality of the films (the clay animations) and the moments of genius (the snail film), but for now we'll concentrate on the album. ‘Drum’s Not Dead’ is a unique work that will no doubt cement the fans’ adoration for the band and alienate detractors even further. At times it’s dangerously close to going far up its rectal passage, yet to have the guts to create something so demanding and unusual, Liars should be commended.