Liars
by Liars
  • Record Label: Mute
  • Release Date: Aug 28, 2007
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 32
  3. Negative: 3 out of 32

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  1. TimT.
    Nov 28, 2007
    3
    They lied... This album is like a really bad sandwitch. The first two tracks are really good, and the last two tracks are ok... The whole middle is just noise. Not all that impressive.
  2. [Anonymous]
    Aug 27, 2007
    10
    Angus Andrew makes me wanna be a woman!
  3. Marc
    Feb 3, 2008
    9
    Very strong album. It makes me wanna freak out.
  4. Daniel
    Nov 17, 2007
    9
    Liars has made an almost perfect mix of everything I like on this album. I hear traces, the Stooges, Can, Sonic Youth, Primal Scream, MBV, TVOTR etc.. The most varied and interesting album of the year.
  5. AViewAM
    Aug 30, 2007
    8
    Who or what is Dusted Magazine....and why do they hire music critics with tin ears and slumped, sagging writing skills? I suppose their business model must be to fail quietly and without much in the way of fond remembrance outside of their six-person, crack-riddled art scene. Oh well....
  6. Mikes.
    Aug 24, 2007
    7
    this release is more like their debut than their last 2 previous efforts. The change of pace is good, but not quite enough. They still experiment with production and to be quite honest the production techniques used were poor,and actually hindered the listening experience a bit. They are still quite experimental, but in a bad way. They still sound too conceited and self centered to be this release is more like their debut than their last 2 previous efforts. The change of pace is good, but not quite enough. They still experiment with production and to be quite honest the production techniques used were poor,and actually hindered the listening experience a bit. They are still quite experimental, but in a bad way. They still sound too conceited and self centered to be truly enjoyable and the creativity is quite as fresh as say there sophmore effort, which in my opinion is still their best album.… Expand
  7. kde
    Aug 31, 2007
    4
    The production is what really fails many of the songs. While some of the songs may or may not be fully flushed out... i still don't think any of them are terribly gripping. This is a band that has steadily declined since their debut.
  8. Gman
    Sep 13, 2007
    8
    Their debut may have been a damn good album that pre-empted the whole post-punk revival but it was They Were Wrong So We Drowned when they started to make genuinely exciting, innovative music. Critics couldn't keep up with them then and they still can't. Drum's Not Dead may have been their masterwork but Liars sees them refusing to stand still and rest on their laurels. Their debut may have been a damn good album that pre-empted the whole post-punk revival but it was They Were Wrong So We Drowned when they started to make genuinely exciting, innovative music. Critics couldn't keep up with them then and they still can't. Drum's Not Dead may have been their masterwork but Liars sees them refusing to stand still and rest on their laurels. There's a definite Psychocandy influence on some tracks and a much more song based structure in general but it sure ain't commercial by any standards. A band that make music their way and don't care what the hell anybody else thinks or expects. It's not everyone's cup of tea (Kaiser Chiefs fans run away now) but for those of us who want challenging and interesting music, Liars (along with Animal Collective) are as good as it gets.… Expand
  9. PatrickM
    Sep 15, 2007
    9
    I'm a little bothered that ridiculous opinions like Dusted and TMT are include, yet antiMusic is not represented. Any rating below an 80 for this album is completely foolish. Clear Island itself make this a great album.
  10. mattk
    Aug 28, 2007
    9
    Very good album. Lack of cohesion is my biggest complaint - a lot of good ideas exist track to track, but they do not form a unified whole. Can't top last years album, (by far their last album) but is still worthy of appearing on some end of the year best albums lists. Mike s, how is this "conceited", if anything this is light years more accessable than "Drum...". If it is "self - Very good album. Lack of cohesion is my biggest complaint - a lot of good ideas exist track to track, but they do not form a unified whole. Can't top last years album, (by far their last album) but is still worthy of appearing on some end of the year best albums lists. Mike s, how is this "conceited", if anything this is light years more accessable than "Drum...". If it is "self - centered" to leave a dieing scene (post punk garade rock) and make originial and ambitious music, then I would have to say that I love "self centered" music.… Expand
  11. ChrisI.
    Sep 11, 2007
    9
    okay i'm not going to get into details on why this record is awesome, it just plainly is.
  12. TristramIV
    Mar 2, 2012
    4
    Save for Sailing to Byzantium, none of these ideas gel. It's just a failed attempt and avant-pop. Occasionally, the strong production values ( in lieu of songs) created here create enough doubt to suspend judgement. However, the disc just never deivers, despite repeated plays.

    I'm tempted to also excuse What Would They Know, which isn't a bad song, per se. It's just that it could be so    Save for Sailing to Byzantium, none of these ideas gel. It's just a failed attempt and avant-pop. Occasionally, the strong production values ( in lieu of songs) created here create enough doubt to suspend judgement. However, the disc just never deivers, despite repeated plays.

    I'm tempted to also excuse What Would They Know, which isn't a bad song, per se. It's just that it could be so much more and, as apparent as this is, that lost promise casts shadow over whatever enjoyment is still to be had. This, in fact, is representative of the entire record, to even less satisfying degrees. A lot of these songs are almost interesting. And as you find yourself pulling for them, that they never succeed remains continually frustrating.    … Expand
  13. dluxxx1212
    Aug 16, 2012
    10
    ****
  14. RMDmusicblog
    Aug 8, 2012
    9
    One of the best albums of 2012 so far, "No. 1 Against the Rush" is a truly haunting track, and "Brats" sounds like a mix between Gorillaz/NIN/Marilyn Manson and defies all genre definitions. Definitely an album worth buying.

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best Album of 2007
62
#62 Most Shared Album of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. Drowned In Sound
    90
    Far more accessible than anything the act have produced in recent years, Liars shifts perceptions in the way most have come to expect, but with the dense conceptual themes and boundaries limited it is as if they have met most listeners halfway only to lure them back into their own sordid comfort zone, littered with the contents of a fifteen-year-old's bedroom.
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  2. Dusted Magazine
    30
    They have built up a group of songs so restless and unsatisfying that a group of teenagers with the proper training could have made them, or likely something better.
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  3. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    You could accuse Liars of abandoning all of their high-art concepts and otherworldly thoughts so they could secure their place on a tour of America's enormodomes with Interpol. Well, you could if this album wasn't so perfect.
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