ALBUM REVIEW: Liars share sadness on Themes From Crying Fountain
Dark and wailing are the two words that pop to my mind when I think about the band Liars. The band has earned that over its first seven albums, and even though the band has changed, everything else has stayed the same on release of No. 8, TFCF, or, Themes from Crying Fountain.
TFCF (Themes from Crying Fountain)
Liars
Aug. 25
Liars have always had some flux in its lineup, but this is a massive change for the group. Longtime member Aaron Hemphill departed during the production of TFCF, and so the band is left in Angus Andrew’s hands. While having most of the control was nothing new for Andrew, there is no one to keep his experimental side in check. This leads to some successes and failures on TFCF.
Let’s tackle the good first. The album has a couple of stand-out songs: “Emblems of Another Story” and “No Help Pamphlet.” These two are the most accessible of the album. The latter of the two features some beautiful acoustic guitar sampling, which is something out of the norm for Liars. The chorus is another high point as it showcases Andrew’s unique voice.
“Emblems of Another Story” shows off an interesting production trick Andrew used on the album. The first minute of the song is nothing but a gently building drone sound over natural sounds of the Australian Outback. This is a running theme throughout the album as Andrew wanted the ambiance of his surroundings included in the record. At other points on the album you hear floors creaking, or even far-off conversations. It gives the album an interesting vibe and is actually a pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, there is sadness to most of the tracks. Sadness is nothing new for Liars albums. In fact it’s one of the things the group has always done best. But this time, I felt like it really infected the album and makes it almost too depressing.
Even with the sad undertones, there is plenty for fans to be excited about when the album comes out this week. The high points like the ambient noise are great and well worth the investment of time to listen.
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