Artist: LiarsAlbum:

SisterworldLabel: MuteRelease date: March 9Rating (Skip, Stream, or Buy): BuyDownload:

“Scissor””Scissor,” the opening track of Liars’ fifth studio album, Sisterworld, opens with humming vocal melodies – kind of like the beginning of the Beatles’ “Because” – before Angus Andrews’ startlingly guttural voice breaks in, singing, “I’m supposed to save you now/But my hands are freaking out.” Just then, the drums thrash their way in while an organ wails in the background. The song continues like this – lulling and then abruptly kicking and screaming – and so does the rest of the record. Sisterworld manically switch temperaments, sometimes slowing down to a sludgy drag, but the punkish and pummeling tracks are the gems here. Liars’ inspiration for this record was a bitterly pessimistic view of life in Los Angeles, and its contentious tone effectively conveys loneliness, insecurity, and paranoia. On songs like “Scarecrows On A Killer Slant” and “The Overchievers,” the tension and aggression are thickly and thrillingly palpable. (Side note: the bass on my car stereo is blown out, and the fuzzed-out effect make these songs sound nothing short of rocking.)