On 9th May 2004 at 18:01 Anonymous 89 wrote...
I went to see the Blood Brothers and left mid set, i thought they were horrible. They seemed to destroy the older songs and the new ones were horrible too. I think it was an off night
Liars
Live at Cockpit on Friday, 7th May 2004
The Blood Brothers are skinny, polite and nervous. When they perform however, a fairytale nightmare is cast upon the room, melancholy, bitter, estranged from reality and reeling with sarcastic vitriol. It is a truly punk attitude, accompanied by original and diverse music. Heavy but endearing, tight and yet trashy, not even from The Icarus Line will you receive such a barrage of schizophrenic and at the same time meaningful music.
Four of the young American gentlemen shuffle, stoop and scream atop the crowded stage, save for the drummer who naturally, perches behind his kit, gracefully underpinning a melee of rhythms, riffs and riotous noise. Mostly new material is aired tonight, and I have to say, it's not a rapid change in direction from the last album, 'Burn Piano Island, Burn'. Ironically, that means each song is a shifty, ever-changing affair, a metamorphosis of time values and melodies, forever stumbling from section to section like a nervous school of fish.
A personal favourite, 'Cecilia' gathers all there is to muster; rumbling, distorted keys; rambling, phlegmatic guitar and fumbling, callous lyrics whining, in unison, "Where is love now?" It is truly unique and quite fearsomely hard to describe. Indeed, the dual vocals are a visual treat, as well as an effective musical tool. The crowd is responsive and appreciative; the alt-rock kids mesmerized, the pseudo-metallers moshing happily and the fashionistas bewildered by the sheer unfathomable nature of TBB set. I believe they are a talented set of individuals, in that they have reinvented what it means to play punk music, adding a sprit of reflective melancholy to the proceedings, without arrogantly claiming to be torchbearers of some kind. It is quite magnificent in my opinion. Humility is probably the greatest of human traits, and to paraphrase Manic Street Preachers, I say, here's to The Blood Brothers, "give them the respect they deserve."
After a brief interlude, all eyes turned towards a fidgety looking chap, conjuring some diabolic feedback from his assembled equipment; guitar, amp and processor. On walks a moustached fellow, complete with peach hot pants and a luminous yellow vest that is far to small for him. He sits behind the drum kit, the houselights dim, and a tartan-hooded figure appears on stage. As the drums begin to relentless pound away an anomalous disco-esque beat, which hardly differs for the next forty minutes, and the feedback reaches an almost unbearable climax, the freakishly tall, and dishevelled figure clambers atop a huge monitor speaker and strikes a pose that can only accurately described as an attempt to mimic a snarling animal. You definitely know when Liars are about. Absolutely everyone is gob smacked, jaws dropped, eyes fixated on the ludicrous monster of a man that is Angus Andrew.
Prancing, strutting and revelling in his own appeal, grinning like the Cheshire cat constantly, the performance of the Liars front man is one of the most ridiculously entertaining spectacles I have ever witnessed. Telling us that it is his birthday, he throws his guitar, jacket, hair and arms all over, flailing and mauling himself in the process. He appears to play the guitar, but when I say play, I mean make a sound. He doesn't really know how any chords, but just thrashes away at the strings. Nobody else would get away with it.
Liars, in an effort to dissect themselves from the post-punk-dance-art-funk scene that they have been, in their own words, 'pigeonholed' into, an entirely different band has surfaced with a concept album. Inspired by the Witch trials of central Europe in the Middle Ages, sorcery, Satanism and religious fervour has been channelled into the outrageous new 'songs' on show. After losing two founding members and reverting to the most minimalist sound possible; no bass player and the deranged use of guitars and analogue effects, now only the semblance of a 'band' remains. Like The Apes before them, Liars are currently obsessed with noise, pure and simple - fluctuating, undulating and tuneless noise. It still remains reasonably atmospheric but most of the songs have no definitive start or end, melody or unifying features. They make The Blood Brothers seem like amateurs in comparison. If you don't like unorthodox song structures, progressive music or eccentric approaches to instrumentation, you will not be impressed.
Most of the audience were visibly amused by the peculiar antics on display; Andrew had a Tigger tail pinned to his suit jacket. The drummer looked dosed up to the eyeballs on some substance or another. Guitarist Aaron Hemphill stayed rooted to his chosen spot, in front of his amp, a lonely recluse, swaddled in his own cacophonous efforts. Occasionally he ditched the guitar all together, letting some processors continue the work, he himself taking up drumsticks and beating away at a percussion set instead.
If you have heard Liars first album, be prepared to hear something entirely insane and bizarre from their latest release. I'm surprised they didn't get some broomsticks out for a ride.
Comments
All replies to this article. Log in to post a reply.
On 10th May 2004 at 10:14 Anonymous 1055 wrote...
Good review fella. This was one of the most jaw-dropping nights I've witnessed for ages. A lot of the press don't seem to understand, but Liars are on top of their game. So inspiring that in an ideal world, they would cause shit bands to realise this, split up and realise their true vocation is to become call centre team leaders. I can dream. Liars are like Can on crack, and I heart them.