Pitchfork

We already talked about "Plaster Casts of Everything", the first song made available from the forthcoming self-titled record by Liars. We only had a limited stream of that one, but you can hear it now over at their MySpace page, along with three other new songs due to appear on Liars. Still not in love with the band's use of falsetto, but "Sailing To Byzantium" is good, with a loping, almost trip-hop beat that leads to a wicked keyboard breakdown. "Freak Out" is even better, total glam rock but chilly and serious, like the Mary Chain with shaved heads and leather traded for dying autumn camouflage. "Protection" is the album closer and it rides off on a relaxed, oddly neutral note, with its organ drones and tinny, mechanical beat. It's nowhere near the grand summation that was "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack", but then, this looks to be a very different record from what came just before, which has become a Liars trademark.

Streams:> Liars: "Sailing to Byzantium" / "Freak Out" / "Protection"
[from Liars; due 8/28/07 on Mute]