Liars – Mess

March 24, 2014 • Mute Records

It was bound to happen; I never expected Liars to go back to their old noise rock roots and with Mess their slow transition through dark synth-pop on WIXIW, but at the same time I never expected them to suddenly become a full-fledged electro-house outfit. It seems appropriate though, somehow. Fortunately I think they've learned a lot from working on WIXIW and it sounds like they've worked hard to improve their sound, and it's really paid off.

When I first heard Mess I thought I was being pranked with a fake download (yeah, I didn't do my homework for this one), but it's really true. Heavy four-on-the-floor house beats, sawtooth synth bass lines, glitchy bleeps, repetitive sampling, topped off with Liars' trademark droning vocal style—the only truly familiar thing on the album. It's very bizarre to think that this is the same band I saw jamming out dense tribal noise just over a year and a half ago (but I guess a lot can change in that time, can't it?).

But I have to admit that these beats are pretty damn good. Things really start to kick in at the second track, with a great sweeping string line that forms the chorus and gives it a very dark and brooding sound while still maintaining a lot of energy and pulse. Then they really kick in with "Pro Anti Anti"'s awesome almost-industrial beat and organ (one of the sounds I was most surprised to hear, and on several tracks too—and somehow it fits in really well).

Another improvement is that there are much fewer songs that I'd call not-particularly-good; WIXIW had its fair share of dull songs but there are only a couple here, and they still aren't really that bad at all. They do enough of mixing up different sounds and styles that it's tough to be disappointed with any of it. And I guess the duller ones like "Can't Hear Well" serve well to give the listener a short break between the intensity of the other tracks, anyway.

It seems unfair to compare it to their older work since they're such a different band now (but no, it's still not as good as Drum's Not Dead), but relative to similar house and electro music I'd say that Mess absolutely holds its own. Great production, great writing; it's an album they can be proud of. And it's got the Liars aesthetic and tone that'll appeal to their fans, to boot. Score all around.