Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned

Imaginatively witnessed through the zealous eyes of Seventeenth Century Puritanical paranoia, They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is, for want of a better expression, a "concept" album addressing the injudiciousness of witchcraft persecution, finding New York electro-punk deconstructionists the Liars visiting the German pagan mythology of Walpurgisnacht (where Spring's coming of the green triumphs over the penury of Winter and followers of the "old religion" gather for un-Christian celebration in the Harz mountains) in a manner akin to Goethe's Faust meeting the taunting discordancy of the Fall, Sonic Youth or Public Image Ltd at the deepest, darkest abyss of non-conformity. It's an unsettling listen; drums skitter, thunder cracks and cats (or witches' familiars) mew, keyboards screech like distorted stylophones and Angus Andrew's pained strains of repetitious protestation attain ear-clasping levels of mantric rancour. While those of a more nervous disposition would be advised to place a bullock's heart in the chimney breast before playing, more bohemian types will find this music liberal, brave and infuriatingly void of distinct definition. --Kevin Maidment