Amongst Liars: Burning The Vision
Each era has its good points and its pitfalls. Ask boomers what their struggles through life were and they’ll be completely different to those of the millennials and those contrast to Gen Z. Such is life. As time’s gone on, there’ve been many bands criticising the situations of their time. THE CLASH tackled ideas of capitalism and dead-end jobs with their eponymous record in 1977. 2004 saw GREEN DAY rally against the Bush Administration across American Idiot. From SUICIDE SILENCE’s Cease To Exist targeting paedophilia to THREE DAYS GRACE documenting abuse with Animal I Have Become, it’s not just albums which comment on this thing called life. Rock outfit AMONGST LIARS recently released their self-titled debut album which added their perspective to the cacophony of opinion about current life.
Joining us from a rehearsal studio in Trowbridge, vocalist Ian George, and a rather temperamental crow, was keen to tell us more. “We [the band] formed literally about a month before lockdown hit, which was great timing. From there, we just wrote quite a lot through throughout lockdown together remotely.” In tandem with their producer, the band took a 20 song compilation into the studio to begin crafting the final product. As the album took shape, the parallels between the music and current events couldn’t be denied.
Some bands would hide their meanings behind the smoke and mirrors of allegories. Others would be more direct. Opting an unmediated approach, Black Days openly addresses the “Tory man” and “Tory woman”. Political decisions and legislations affect us all regardless of person’s standpoint on the subject. As of April this year, there are just under three million people in the UK claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Those who aren’t given an indefinite reward will be subject to a reassessment after a fixed period no matter the health condition. Ian tells us the story of someone he knew who had been living with a brain tumour and told he was fit to work before subsequently dying “because the government fucked up” in not reassessing the situation. “It’s stuff like that,” Ian comments. “Look at Brexit. Look at all the stuff they do for their own gain. It’s just annoying, isn’t it?”
While there are many references to political points within the album, it would be an oversight to label AMONGST LIARS a political band. “If there’s something that pisses us off, we talk about it,” Ian laughs. It would also be a disservice to call them a pandemic band. Though forming during lockdown, the subjects they cover had always been in existence, they were merely highlighted by this two to three year period. Rousing Burn The Vision was written from both left and right wing perspectives about how the other creates a spin on news for their own agendas. Cut It speaks of domestic abuse; leading charity Refuge reported a 61% rise in contact made to their National Domestic Abuse Helpline between April 2020 and February 2021.
If this is the reality of life, how could people not want to call attention to it? Or point out the fundamental flaws of our society? When we touch on the overbearing opinion some have about music and real life not mixing, Leo Burdett [guitars] quickly takes a seat on the bench and chimes in. “This is our avenue for expressing ourselves. Sure, we can talk about girls and drinking but we want to get deep and explore real things. I want this to be something we can be proud of.” It’s this point which sends Ian on a trail of thought, “we’re saying this is our life and this is affecting us. We’re not overtly saying fuck the system but rather this is the system and people can form their own opinions based on that.”
Almost like an unconventional cuckoo clock, the agitated crow which had perched in a tree nearby caws more aggressively the longer the interview goes on for. With such a heavy subject matter in mind, we couldn’t end the interview without asking what they would change about modern life. “I’m a big believer in what goes around comes around,” Ian starts. “It sounds quite naïve but I just want people to get along. I can’t see why people can’t be nice to each other, why they have to kill each other and all that shit. Maybe that’s just the hippie in me.”
If that is a hippie approach to life then it is an approach many of us share. We want to burn this vision of a cold, harsh world full of self-serving behaviour. This doesn’t mean living in a utopia where everything is perfect and there is nothing but peace and harmony. AMONGST LIARS aren’t that naïve. What they want is similar to what many of us want. Equality. A government which cares about the people it presides over. Change. With an authority which resembles a problematic reality TV star when it’s not rapidly falling apart, is that change closer than we anticipate? It’s too early to realistically give an answer to that. The ambiguity of it all will drive many to distraction if it hasn’t already. One thing which will remain clear though, music and “real life issues” should absolutely mix and Distorted Sound will be a conduit for that as long as we are able.
Amongst Liars is out now via Earache Records.
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