WIXIW
by Liars
  • Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Jun 5, 2012
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
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  1. Q Magazine
    Oct 12, 2012
    60
    For a record that strives to sound disembodied, it has a powerful grip. [Jul 2012, p.105]
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  2. NOW Magazine
    Jul 19, 2012
    60
    The latter half of WIXIW has enough to offset their plodding attempts to be experimental.
  3. Fact Magazine (UK)
    Jun 6, 2012
    60
    By taking electronic to mean, largely, removed introspection, WIXIX might be the one example of a guitar band who, by fully embracing electronica, have regressed.
  5. The Boston Phoenix
    Jun 5, 2012
    50
    Yes, there are some colorful, more fully realized moments toward the end, but all the mumbling and fussing it takes to get there is murder.

Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Best Album of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. WithSecretNoise
    Dec 22, 2012
    10
    ALBUM OF THE YEAR (2012) - LIARS' "WIXIW" - (MUTE)

    Call it Liars' 'Gone Electric Album' minus the motorcycle accident. From the music    ALBUM OF THE YEAR (2012) - LIARS' "WIXIW" - (MUTE)

    Call it Liars' 'Gone Electric Album' minus the motorcycle accident. From the music releases I've heard this year, in the borderless world of boarded-up bodies, LIARS' 'WIXIW' is the album that stayed with me like a life-vest. Under-reviewed and undersold by most of the music press this year, "Wish You" is an album worth rejoicing for. It refuses the easy pop-single and jingle dandruff, even though 'No. #1 Against the Rush' and the 'Exact Color of Doubt' might suggest the opposite. It twists with its own sense of Los Angeles belonging. Recorded under Highway 101--from a road that entrances and disenchants its night-riders with ease--came the sound of this brand new world. Seemingly modest in contrast to Liars' masterpiece of 2006 ('Drum's Not Dead') and their other, more abrasive albums, 'Wish You' grows over you like a wet cloak of its own dark making; it rises in shadows while hiding its wearer's countenance; it's all atmosphere, all the time. The woozy, slurred synths, bird calls, echo loops. For a band known for its no wave guitars, vulcan drumming and pagan chanting, Liars retransmits Gary Numan and Aphex Twin with their own left-hand designs. They drop the noise of their Art Punk past and go wildly into the night streaking Daft Punk, transmuting alabaster surfaces into echo chambers. 'Wish You' is a warm, brave and spectral beauty, showcasing--in the most singular fashion--Angus Andrew's most fragile of falsettos. As their first electronic album, it's 'Kid A'--but with all of the warmth and grandeur of 'In Rainbows.' And of all the albums I heard this year, this one came calling back to me like someone I had lost once but still loved. It dialed back to my phone, my car, my computer, and even into the dreams of the unseen. [100/100]    … Full Review »
  2. jmcpIII
    Aug 8, 2012
    10
    Blew me away. By far my favorite album of the year. None of the tracks really fit together or carry some overarching theme (other thanBlew me away. By far my favorite album of the year. None of the tracks really fit together or carry some overarching theme (other than stylistically), which makes each song easily identifiable and memorable. I like concept albums but I find most to be pretentious and a little tiring as most of them are just too long and congested. But WIXIW seems easy to listen to if you like to digest music rather than just throw something on the stereo. I get all the Kid A comparisons with electronics/atmospherics but I think Liars have a more sinister and creepy approach to their music. Sisterwold scared the **** out of everyone, but WIXIW while retaining that nightmarish quality seems more aware of the fact and uses gentle touches of synth and other odd noises to keep that paranoia still present but subdued and accessible.… Full Review »
  3. AlexxTrusc
    Jun 18, 2012
    9
    Album "WIXIW" - meaning "wish you" - is probably the most experimental-electronic position in six album Liars band's career. ArrangementsAlbum "WIXIW" - meaning "wish you" - is probably the most experimental-electronic position in six album Liars band's career. Arrangements visible even after "The Exact Colour Of Doubt" is a result of a bit ambiental, sometimes even drone style - through a greater focus on the color of the presented sound than in fact on a melodys tone - which is visible even in the "Octagon". It can be concluded that the works represented by the brilliant single "No.1 Against The Rush", keep their moody, varied climate throughout the disc.… Full Review »
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