WIXIW
Co-produced by Mute founder Daniel Miller (Depeche Mode, Yazoo), Liars' dark, largely electronic and sample-based latest album is a return to their adventurous, experimental roots. It's also the group's most human and fragile album to date.
Over the course of Liars’ career, it’s often seemed like the group abruptly changes its sound with every album. It’s true Liars have displayed a penchant to constantly tweak the formula, turning out everything from avant-garde noise to dance punk to twisted pop. But with WIXIW, the band’s sixth full-length, it’s clear…
A blinding record from a band who surprise so often it's pretty much unsurprising.
New York’s Liars have the much-coveted ability to hop between genres without sounding overextended or plagiaristic. Since…
Anyone familiar with Liars knows that each album feels like a reintroduction to the band, and WIXIW (pronounced "wish you") is no exception.
Constructed around nebulous themes of doubt, fear and introspection, WIXIW finds Liars spinning a timbrally-rich web of mangled samples, sparing instrumentation and synthetic tones. They've dabbled in electronics before, most notably on 2004's They Were So Wrong So We Drowned, but WIXIW is an infinitely more subtle beast; its supple rhythms and repetitious melodic motifs are apt to seep their way into your subconscious rather than assault you with shock and awe.
WIXIW opens with a big synthesizer string pad, an electro kick drum, some chopped-up snare, and Angus Andrew's melodic meanderings.