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. The A.V. Club
    Jun 5, 2012
    91
    WIXIW eventually opens to reveal cunning depths.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    Jul 27, 2012
    90
    Liars have created another standout album that while dissimilar from the rest, is nothing short of amazing and nothing of a surprise from such an exceptional band.
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jun 6, 2012
    90
    An exquisitely polished, well-refined album that takes the best of what Liars have achieved in the past and fastens it in a crisp electronic casing.
  5. Consequence
    Jun 4, 2012
    90
    No matter how far into the ether they push, no matter what new form their music takes, there is a core Liars sound, and they've never sounded more aware of that or as ready to take on the challenge of reaching into that center.
  6. The Fly (UK)
    Jun 1, 2012
    90
    [WIXIW is] dizzying, discordant and heavily rhythmic, as Andrew, Hemphill and Gross weave found sounds, freaky fragments of melancholy off-kilter melody, spiralling keyboard motifs, flurries of strings and distorted vocals and riffs through electronics that crunch and crack like shattered glass.
  7. Drowned In Sound
    Jun 1, 2012
    90
    It is a refreshing, sublime, and exciting work of art.
  8. musicOMH.com
    Jun 1, 2012
    90
    WIXIW is a wonder of an album of endless layers and contrasts to get caught up and lost in.
  9. Beats Per Minute
    Jun 11, 2012
    84
    WIXIW is simply a Liars album that exceeds expectations and throws a sonic left curve that not only impresses, but reminds us how talented this band is.
  10. cokemachineglow
    Jul 6, 2012
    81
    There's lots to love about WIXIW, but it is all so much the band's own creation that anything less than experience falls severely short of capturing it.
  11. Mojo
    Jul 19, 2012
    80
    WIXIW's pop is still complex and affecting and of beguiling substance. [Aug 2012, p.91]
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  12. DIY Magazine
    Jun 15, 2012
    80
    An album that immerses you into its world, a headphones record that is at once both their most accessible and their most challenging, revealing new layers after every listen. Unpredictable, in the very best way.
  13. Magnet
    Jun 13, 2012
    80
    Downright pretty. [No.88 p.57]
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  14. Spin
    Jun 8, 2012
    80
    On WIXIW, everything is in its right place.
  15. CMJ
    Jun 7, 2012
    80
    This isn't a joyful album, but it's inviting and almost welcoming in ways that might surprise people who primarily associate the band with the alienating onstage antics of giant frontman Angus Andrew.
  16. PopMatters
    Jun 7, 2012
    80
    WIXIW is another remarkable achievement for Liars.
  17. Exclaim
    Jun 6, 2012
    80
    Each Liars album has kept us guessing and WIXIW is no exception, offering us another glimpse of Liars' infinite supply of uncompromising, yet succesful ideas.
  18. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jun 6, 2012
    80
    What WIXIW's working process has given them instead is yet another way to find the manifold, melancholy and menacing nature of Liars.
  19. BBC Music
    Jun 6, 2012
    80
    WIXIW is an unqualified success and, now that LCD are no longer with us, its makers are truly are in a field of their own.
  20. AllMusic
    Jun 5, 2012
    80
    While WIXIW might be a shade less ambitious than some of their previous albums, it's still fascinating to hear Liars wield beauty and delicacy just as formidably as they've used force and noise in the past.
  21. Under The Radar
    Jun 5, 2012
    80
    Liars continue to stay delightfully fresh and impressively relevant through every careful reinvention.
  22. Clash Music
    Jun 5, 2012
    80
    This is their most mysterious and rewarding album yet.
  23. Slant Magazine
    Jun 4, 2012
    80
    WIXIW puls[es] with strange, inimitable energy.
  24. The Quietus
    Jun 1, 2012
    80
    Once you allow it to sink in, WIXIW becomes a hushed collection of voices.
  25. Paste Magazine
    Jun 5, 2012
    78
    While 40-plus minutes of these experiments may start to drag, Liars' ability to work in hooks and structure to oddball electronic music is both admirable and pleasantly surprising.
  26. Pitchfork
    Jun 4, 2012
    78
    Another very good album from a band that consistently turns out good work while charting its own path.
  27. Prefix Magazine
    Jun 4, 2012
    75
    At best, this would spark an awakening that provides the catharsis for yourself. At worst, WIXIW is an impressive statement by a band that regularly seems several steps ahead of their peers.
  28. Rolling Stone
    Jun 18, 2012
    70
    It's an album that creeps you out even as it sucks you in.
  29. No Ripcord
    Jun 8, 2012
    70
    It's a good album, revelatory in that Liars can carry their sound into different realms of possibility, a translation carried out by different instruments.
  30. Blurt Magazine
    Jun 5, 2012
    70
    Though not as visceral as previous outings, WIXIW has its charms.
  31. Uncut
    Jun 1, 2012
    70
    Hit singles are in short supply, but WIXIW has an atmospheric, immersive quality that puts one in mind of Kid A's soporific drift. [Jul 2012, p.77]
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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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