‘You can’t be my inspiration, if I can’t see what you’ve become’
Independence Day this year will be a delight, I’m focusing on the main event, here with me I have the new album by my friends Amongst Liars, as they burn the midnight oil, burn the candle at both ends and burn our delicate constitutions with this angry bastard of a record. Yet underneath this anger I sense a tenderness, a gentle swish of emotion, a lull of sorts, is it that we have accepted our fate? Perhaps it is the calm, the disquiet, the sensory edge of a knife before you bring on the attack of the fight of your life.
Not much has changed since we last met these guys, we continue to fall, we continue to languish, we have become even more frail, and hopelessness is taking over. We begin with ‘Prelude’ a stark and portentous piece; do we step away or investigate further.
This quintessential quintet – say that after a few drinks, go on I dare you- are my ride or die band, having had the enormous privilege of working with them these last few years, they know where the bodies are buried. I appreciate their knowledge, their assessment and their conclusions, which you see all neatly wrapped up inside the most exquisite artwork by long-time collaborator and co-conspirator Pierre Engelbrecht, whose mind is a conveyer belt of the bizarre and the beautiful.
The songwriting is autogenic, there is no need for external interference when the work is a cut above. We have two guest slots here, released today is the title track ‘By Design’ featuring Felin, all the way from Sweden, illuminating the song and providing a softer aspect, making the whole picture of disdain and disappointment more palatable.
The second is Richie Hevanz who brings his own personal touch, when there is ‘No Control’ then it really is a free for all. Once you’ve had your fun ‘close the door when you leave’ jog on people, nothing to see here.
The slow burn of ‘Say’ offers a paradoxical stance, because of all the evils in this world, hope is the most painful, yet it conflates with the idea that it is hope that keeps us going. Our anguish is served up with the achingly precise ‘I wanna be free of this fucking disease that is eating my mind’ thankfully with our friends here, we are in the same boat, in the same storm. After an extremely successful run of singles, we get to see the scenario in its entirety, how each song shapes us, makes us or breaks us, will you need an ‘Alibi’ when your conscience comes to call? It is isn’t surprising that they were honoured with Band of the Decade this year at Great Music Stories Radio, a vehicle to promote artists that would otherwise be sidelined on this uneven playground.
With a UK tour on the horizon, brace yourself or as the mighty Exodus would say ‘impact is imminent’ as we all spectate at the lunatic parade which will be the perfectly timed election. A chance to make things right, a chance to stop this binfire from engulfing us and a chance to walk amongst the giants of the grassroots scene.
Blink once, think twice, don’t deny me this vice.
Azra Pathan
Amongst Liars – By Design out 4th July 2024