Liars — Sisterworld

Liars have charted a rather strange course over their career. They began as a one of New Yorks top dance-punk bands, but the trio ditched the post-punk motifs on their second disc, alienating critics and fans alike. They then decamped to Berlin to record the weird rhythm-heavy Drum's Not Dead to unanimous acclaim.

But Sisterworld, their fifth LP, sounds the most like 2007's self-titled record. Liars have cleared the decks of expectations with their second and third albums, and seem to have abandoned blazing new conceptual trails. Instead, they've settled into a groove where four-minute "pop" songs are infused with the sonic experimentations of Drum's Not Dead.

But Sisterworld feels tired where even their most adventurous experiments retained the firecracker energy that originally brought them to prominence. Subsequent listens may reveal something more beneath the surface — Liars records are never straightforward — but it seems while the sonic experiments remain, the visceral oomph is gone.

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