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“We had been making music for a while, and I think the basic idea of writing a ‘song’ might have escaped us. With this album we concentrated on the idea of making a song that could affect people universally without having to do any research. When we were younger, it seemed to be simpler and more exciting. If I really liked a song, a Cure song or something, I didn’t care what the song title was, where it was recorded, or if there was meaning behind it because it already had meaning for me without any of that. We thought about that idea and tried to work with very raw emotions.”

Another change to the band’s working methods has been Aaron’s relocation to Los Angeles. After the recording of ‘Drum’s Not Dead’, Angus stayed in Berlin while Aaron and Julian returned to America.

“We work completely separately and send each other stuff that will hopefully go in a similar direction. We do talk about what we’re attempting, the idea of ‘songs’, and how music felt when we were younger – those were basic principles we both followed. It’s all about timing – being on the same page at the same time, which is rare”.

Despite what Angus says, there’s no doubt that Liars have been unusually prolific over the past couple of years. This new album arrives just under a year and a half since ‘Drum’s Not Dead’, pretty fast considering that most bands work on a three-year cycle of recording, promoting and touring. The misconception of Liars as just another New York dance-punk band spurred them onto to prove people wrong.

“It was really exciting to go away and completely fuck with everybody. We could have made another dance-punk record and people would have been happy, and I guess we would have been richer, but we got a lot of respect for ‘They Were Wrong, So We Drowned’. We would definitely like to do something really strange again but it’s hard to know what qualifies as ‘strange’ anymore. If you wanted to hear something weird, we could make something really weird”.

Liars really could be capable of anything next. After the release of two experimental albums and unusual sounds, the last thing people expected of Liars was a more accessible, straightforward album. That being said, they’re not afraid to try other styles of music.

“People freak out really easily. I would feel really comfortable making a bossa nova or jazz record, and that sounds a bit out there but it feels natural to me because I like that kind of music. If I did that it would really freak the fuck out of people, and people would probably really hate it.”

Liars in accessible album shocker? Stranger things have happened. Considering the musical left turns they’ve taken over the past three albums, you can’t rule anything out. Let’s just hope they aren’t being serious about the jazz thing…

‘Liars’ self-titled new album is out now on Mute. www.liarsliarsliars.com

This feature originally appeared in Issue #39

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Posted on: 27th January 2010

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