Believe It Or Not, Liars Say They Don't Make Weird Music

Liars frontman Angus Andrew claims that the band's newly released Drum's Not Dead album isn't based around a concept. Yet the album appears to be rich in thematic meaning and substance.

"The challenge is to make something that is completely lacking in meaning," says Andrew. "At the stage we're at right now, it seems that we could write a very straightforward pop song and it could be somehow a very conceptual idea."

The Liars, originally based in New York City, are comprised of Andrew, Aaron Hemphill and Julian Gross. The band have a reputation for writing albums that are a bit out there, but Andrew says that's something that they're trying to shed.

"I feel that this record really wasn't like that at all and, even though this record was well-received, it still seems like it's shrouded in conceptual weirdness."

Being labelled as a group who makes weird music is something that upsets Andrew, especially because he feels that Drum's Not Dead is a non-arty record. In an effort to distinguish it from past efforts, the band separated. Andrew left New York City and travelled across the Atlantic to Berlin, Germany, which helped his creative process.

"I'm very into being out of context, which is why I kind of chose to move to Berlin," he says.

"I don't speak the language, so it put me into this weird creative little bubble. I tend to work without really knowing that much about what I'm doing."

Drum's Not Dead is based around percussion and rhythm. In a tribal war-like fashion, the drum stands out on every track and dominates the guitars and vocals. In fact, melody is virtually nowhere to be found. Andrew admits to wanting to make something very primitive.

"Since we began writing songs, we would always begin with the drum and then build things around it. It has been our process for working the whole time."

What attracts Andrew to the drum more than any other instrument is that he feels that it's instinctual.

"You don't need to be a musician or musically proficient to hear that it's getting faster or louder or slower or softer," he says. "I think that's a good analogy of our band as a whole."

Drum's Not Dead comes with a bonus DVD that contains 36 short films inspired by the music on the album. Conversely, the films have inspired some of the songs. Andrew says that incorporating visuals into the music is something that the band are looking to do in the future.

Here are the Liars' Canadian tour dates:

June 9 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards
June 21 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
June 22 Montreal, QC @ Cabaret