Thursday, June 29, 2006

11, or, In Attack of Liars, In Defense of The Walkmen

for the records offers a proper review of last tuesday's Walkmen show, and I'm having a little trouble finding any much documentation of the Liars show from last week. anybody?

ANYWAYS, I called Liars a crock of shit in my last post because I really can't say they were able to win me over, almost at all after their show at Lee's. Drum's Not Dead has been hailed as the album of 2006 so far, but with it I see many parallels with the Fiery Furnaces' Blueberry Boat, which received similar acclaim upon its release, only to be close to forgotten now. I question the people that have been won over by them and what their motives are, as I did for FF a couple of years back, after seeing their own somewhat lacklustre live show at the Mod Club.

And if the Liars have a greatest sin, it's not that they're difficult, abrasive, or avant garde (though they fit the bill in all 3 of those), it's that they're forgettable. Frontman Angus Andrew is a giant, hairy beast of a man who is certainly a remarkably creative, if (as he would admit, onstage drug involved ) fellow, but who will surely be known more in the long run for his relationship with the YYYs Karen O than anything else. Liars are a band of the moment, and will be hard pressed to live out the decade.

The Walkmen, on their part, are riding the waves of a less-than-loved (so far) follow up to Bows and Arrows, which for me over time has creeped in and become one of my favourite albums, period. Believe me, I can go on and on and their last show at Lee's touring that record (back in '04 or so) really blew me away as everything was much louder and intense, yet still reeking of the misery that permeates B&W. On Tuesday some of the new material certainly came off really well, and the set was full of it, though current favourite Lousiana was a fabulous disappointment thanks to a very flat trumpet. It was also sort of a flat night with a half-empty room and a rather flaccid crowd, but in spite of that, it just seems like these guys are bringing a lot more to the table than the Liars' current indie cred godliness.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the new Walkmen record. I really should have gone to the show too. Damn.

12:15 PM  
Blogger YO! said...

yeah I totally meant to ask you before, and then when I got there I was half expecting to run into you!

12:16 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home