As the title might suggest, Drum's Not Dead features quite a bit of percussion; sometimes it's tribal, sometimes it's marching band, and sometimes it's nothing but a nervous clattering of sticks, but it's always there and it's clearly both the backbone and the star of this album. It has been vaguely explained by the band that Drum's Not Dead is a concept album about two characters named Drum and Mt. Heart Attack, but to me, it's a story about Liars' love affair with percussion.
Liars perfectly marry their extensive drum work on Drum's Not Dead with atmospheric washes of guitar and quite a bit of frontman Angus Andrew's falsetto. At times, Liars lull us into near-trances (The Wrong Coat for you, Mt. Heart Attack and Drum Gets a Glimpse) and at others, seem to be menacingly crescendoing towards something evil (Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack and Drum and the Uncomfortable Can). Drum and the Uncomfortable Can is the clear triumph here, with the dark, scary pairing of double drumming and slow guitar reverb, along with Andrew giving tips on how to get rid of a dead body.
Every time I listen to this album, I quickly and easily slip into it, as if it were a world Liars created.
To Download (Via MediaFire):
Liars: Drum's Not Dead (2006)
