• Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Mar 21, 2006
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 29
  2. Negative: 1 out of 29
  1. A stunning achievement and the first exceptionally great album of 2006.
  2. So come now fans of insidious and wily (yet cerebral) rock, Liars have delivered just what you need... even if you don't realize it yet.
  3. Alternative Press
    100
    The disc may be too weird for people who like their music categorically cut and dried, but adventurous listeners will want to bang Liars' Drum often. [May 2006, p.178]
  4. Urb
    100
    Unequivocally recommended for the open-minded among us. [Apr 2006, p.86]
  5. A manically strange, darkly and violently beautiful, and deliriously pop album.
  6. Drum's Not Dead is a majestic victory lap, and on all levels, a total fucking triumph.
  7. This is music that relies entirely on feeling, and while not for everyone it is music at its most impulsively, spontaneously creative.
  8. With their third album, Liars have succeeded in creating the near-impossible; a conceptual work that speaks to the emotions and the intellect simultaneously.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    There's a subtle beauty amid the madness. [24 Mar 2006, p.70]
  10. Drips with a sense of myth and mystery.
  11. Perhaps it took a grueling creative journey and a battle with self-doubt to get there, but the end result is a band that has retained its brash experimental flare while discovering its heart.
  12. Through the course of "Drums Not Dead", you'll endure an unsettling, slightly terrifying experience, the likes of which is rarely committed to record.
  13. Mojo
    80
    The trio's chanting, loops and metal-bashing framework is now fleshed out by some beautiful ambient-noise balladry. [Mar 2006, p.106]
  14. Every minute of the album demands patience and something resembling concentration.
  15. Under The Radar
    80
    Admittedly, the tracks take multiple listens to truly grasp beyond their primal appeal. [#13, p.92]
  16. Paste Magazine
    80
    Drum is a challenging listen... But as the songs flow one into the next, a powerful tension builds, released finally by the gorgeous closing ballad. [Apr/May 2006, p.108]
  17. Despite some tracks that take immediate hold, it's another album that takes a little bit of simmering to really sink in.
  18. Despite isolated moments of brilliance, Drum’s Not Dead fails to mesh.
  19. It is clear that Liars are, just now, coming into their own musically, making music that ebbs and flows and might actually invite emotion as much as it does analysis.
  20. It's true that many of these tracks are not for the casual listener, but that's also not the point.
  21. Drum's Not Dead is undeniably interesting, but somehow unsatisfying.
  22. The New York Times
    70
    Pretentious? Absolutely. But the music can also be genuinely eerie. [27 Mar 2006]
  23. New Musical Express (NME)
    70
    Out there, sure--but this is the sort of experimentalism Radiohead scoop plaudits for. [18 Feb 2006, p.35]
  24. Spin
    67
    Kraut-rock drones run together into one long, thudding hum. [Mar 2006, p.95]
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 57 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 63
  3. Negative: 6 out of 63
  1. BobR
    Oct 16, 2007
    10
    Having the urge to listen to something different yet excellent? Here it is.
  2. Sep 2, 2021
    10
    GODLY MUSIC. Trustith in me when I say the beats drive this primordial masterpiece. This is what our ANCESTORS wanted and needed.
  3. EricC.
    Aug 31, 2008
    9
    An incredible album that many will miss out on due to the mislabeling of this album as difficult and challenging many websites and mags. An incredible album that many will miss out on due to the mislabeling of this album as difficult and challenging many websites and mags. Stunning post-punk with a serious experimental edge now common in the Brooklyn crowd (though they're in Berlin now). And I give them credit for not backing down when their previous album was attacked for being too bizarre (I still don't get how it was so abrasive for some people, though). They could have gone back to what earned them all that hype on their debut, but instead came out with another wild concept album.. Speeking of which, don't try to study the album based on it's concept. Come for the music and let everything else be cool little surprises. And while I won't take cheap shots at people giving this album low scores, please have a valid argument instead of just that "worst album ever" crap. You're not the f*cking Comic Book Guy. Full Review »