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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned

Liars

2004

Buy At Rough Trade
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Album Summary

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned is the second album by noise rock band Liars, released in 2004. The album is considered a massive departure from the post-punk-inspired style of their debut They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, exploring a more freeform, tribal sound. The album takes the form of a very loose concept album concerning witchcraft upon The Brocken (a mountain) during Walpurgis Night, and tales of witch trials in the area around the Harz Mountains in Germany. The recording coincided with the band's relocation from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to the woods of rural New Jersey, which also inspired the initial direction of the album. The focus upon the Brocken legends came when one of the band members mistakenly entered "Brocken Witch" into a search engine while researching the first song's title (called "Broken Witch" at the time). A screenshot of the music video for "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" resulted on the band's eponymous creepypasta. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.08

Votes

10491

Genres

  • Rock

Reviews

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Mon Oct 16 2023
5

1001albumsgenerator.com users when they have to listen to something more mentally stimulating than 60s pop rock: 🤮😡😭🤬 I jest, I goof - love you guys - but come on, you gotta admit that this is pretty damn cool. Give it a fair shot. Imagine a bunch of nasty ass green witches having a dance party while listening to this for proper enjoyment. Incredibly pretentious, but I think that makes it more fun. I really appreciate how every song sounds like a completely distinct assault on my ears (in a good way), I never felt bored listening to this. "If Your a Wizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses?" uses the wrong form of Your/You're though. See me after class. Fuck it, 5/5. I don't remember the last time I had this much fun listening to an album from this list.

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Sat Jun 03 2023
1

Absolute hot garbage. I have no fuckin idea why you ‘need’ to listen to this album before you die other than to realize music this bad does indeed, actually exist.

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Tue Apr 25 2023
2

This album is a huge miss from the editors. It’s not critically acclaimed or well-received, not at all popular, alternates between boring and flat-out bad, and it’s not even significant outside of a creepy pasta mentioned on the Wikipedia article for this album. I read the creepy pasta and even that was garbage. Maybe they should’ve instituted a 5 or 10 year buffer on new music before putting an album on the list just to stop something like this from happening. 3/10

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Sat Apr 22 2023
1

Dreading this as soon as the genre was "noise rock" I'm sure it's arty and influential to someone. But as a listen it's unbearable for more than 10 seconds at a time. 1

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Fri May 05 2023
3

I do like the theme and approach of this LP but it feels all a bit forced. I think something more melodic here and there would be the proper contrast to the ever-droning sound. It is the same problem for all LPs of this sort: It is just too much in the same direction.

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Mon May 29 2023
3

Kinda like NIN if they were weird and goofy. I liked it! Don't know when I'd put it back on, so it gets a 3 instead of a 4. Hey, at least it isn't more post punk from the UK.

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Mon Aug 28 2023
5

Got really excited when I saw the really bad reviews. Most of the time what is really out there for others is right up my alley and it certainly was. As a lover of noise rock and experimental music this was a really nice find for sure.

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Fri May 12 2023
1

Oof. Yeah, no way am I making it through all of this. Just fartin' around on the web and I see that Spin magazine gave this album an F and called it "unlistenable." Whoever that brave journalist is and where ever you are... I salute you.

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Thu Oct 26 2023
3

I am enjoying this record more that I think I should be. The first track is more of a test than I would have used, but a) I wasn't consulted, and b) it is a pretty good primer for what is about to come. Something that interests me in noise rock is that I typically use music to separate myself from the chaotic racket of life. Rarely does that noise create anything resembling music, but occasionally the thunk of an air conditioner does match up with the splat of a dripping sink. So I appreciate it when a band chooses to focus on wrangling the chaos into art. I still don't think I will spend much time thinking about this in the future.

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Sun Mar 03 2024
3

Does not deserve all of these hateful reviews. I thought it was interesting.

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Thu Jun 15 2023
1

Not in my edition of the book! 2004. 1 star. Pretentious, irritating, pointless noise. WTF is this shit doing this list, and who selected it?

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Tue May 16 2023
1

It’s kind of impressive that this can be released and end up on a list of 1001 albums you must listen to before you die

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Mon May 29 2023
1

If a Hangover had a soundtrack. Truly horrible noises.

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Wed Jun 28 2023
1

1 because I'm feeling generous.

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Tue Jul 04 2023
5

I’m sure I’m being contrarian by giving this 5, but I don’t care.

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Tue Apr 18 2023
2

Idk, I feel I should like this more than I do. There are some cool punchier tracks here, but there’s just too much aimless noise that makes the album feel bloated, and this brand of post-punk just really isn’t my thing. 2.5/5

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Wed Jun 07 2023
2

I'm generally enthusiastic with the stuff more outcast, experimental and noisy, but I can't see why this one is interesting or good. Nice try, tho.

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Mon Oct 09 2023
2

[shakes head] Fucking Brooklyn.

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Fri Nov 10 2023
2

Awful but I've heard worse on this list

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Tue Nov 21 2023
2

not a sing along in the car album is it.

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Wed May 10 2023
4

Liars at their peak before they go out the window with "Drum's Not Dead." They strike a decent balance between noise and rock. I like they way they start the album with the buzz of an amp that has an attached cord being touched to metal in a melodic/rhythmic way. Would make a good soundtrack to a horror movie.

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Tue May 09 2023
3

This was fine. I cannot say I found this to be anything special, although more listens may change my mind.

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Mon Dec 25 2023
3

I like Liars, I am not shocked other people do not like Liars. 3/5

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Fri Mar 29 2024
3

A nice departure from the usual fare, into that dark alley of noise music. Decades after the Throbbing Gristle album we had, but just as abrasive and to me, even darker. Somehow I've developed a taste for this kind of evil music, more than I have for metal. And this one is pretty good if you ask me, though it lacks a bit of bite. As usual, a few good songs I'll keep, but I wish it went a little harder. For reference, I'm always comparing albums like these to Pharmakon, specifically her album Bestial Burden. That one is absolutely a "must hear before you die." This one? I'm not so sure. But I had a good time. Favorite tracks: If You're a Wizard, Read the Book that Wrote Itself, Flow My Tears the Spider Said. Album art: Really, really love this cover. Bizarre embroidered image, looks to be an eagle with an ocean and lightning below, and a volcano behind? Then some other freaky things like a hanging man and a skull. The font is wicked, everything about this cover is awesome to me. 3.5/5

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Thu Apr 18 2024
3

As per usual, another one of these super low rated records that is actually nowhere near as bad as people/reviewers on this site would have you think. An album inspired by German witchcraft, it’s dense and foreboding, part Residents, part Throbbing Gristle, so it’s as out there as you would expect it to be, but although grim in parts, it’s not without (dark) humour. Whilst I will probably never ever seek this out again after I’m done with it here, ‘They Were Wrong, So We Drowned’ is still an interesting if abrasive listen, and I would much rather be exposed to stuff like this, then say for example, yet another one of the many boring, shitty indie albums that I’ve had to endure so far through my 1001 albums journey.

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Tue Jun 13 2023
2

Pretentious noise bullshit. 2 stars.

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Wed May 31 2023
1

I couldn't listen to this, I tried to be objective, but this is just noise. I did not like it at all

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Mon Jun 12 2023
1

I first listened to this in a busy natatorium where I couldn't hear a lot of detail, and I tolerated it more than hated it. I revisited later to see if my first impression was good, and friend, it was not. This album sucks.

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Fri Nov 03 2023
1

There’s good news and bad news about this album. The good news is that it is not a Prog rock album from the 70s for a change. The bad news is, it is this album. I don’t really know what to say beyond that. Maybe I am lacking in musical sophistication, but I do not know why this album is one that I needed to hear before I died.

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Wed May 10 2023
5

Woah, based on the name and album art I did not expect such an experimental/dissonant sound. This is generally in my wheelhouse of musical pleasures so I'm down with it. Never knew the band so glad to broaden my knowledge. Crazy industrial-like drums with artsy vocal trappings, a combo I haven't heard much. Definitely propelled to a professional level with the production, which elevates it from indie-artsy-trappings to something a bit more grand. I'm into it, definitely gonna explore further. I should listen to listen to more noise-rock. Definitely not for everyone though.

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Mon Sep 04 2023
5

Well this certainly gave me a WTF moment shortly into the first song… what kind of slog is this?! And then… click… something about sitting alone in the dark in a cabin listening to cleverly titled songs about brooms and witches… I’ve been known to embrace wackadoo music… this is pretty out there… do I really like this? Yes, I think I do. Do I expect to play this in the company of anyone else I know? Perhaps at a Halloween party? Even then I’d expect this musical selection to be quickly vetoed. I’ve listened to this a few times now and I keep thinking about this. I have subsequently discovered from Wikipedia that this was recorded in a cabin in the woods… strange coincidence… Crazy original. Crazy good. Crazy! Favorite songs: They Don’t Want Your Corn, They Want Your Kids and There’s Always Room On The Broom

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Mon Sep 04 2023
5

I absolutely loved the first two-thirds of this. Fuzzy, screechy, whiny against some totally danceable grooves. The last few tracks lost my interest but I was captivated by most of it. Yes!

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Sun Sep 17 2023
5

Huh. I was worried that this one would be a total torturous chore when I saw that it was noise rock. Got even more worried when I saw the average rating of 2.22 stars. But in the end I actually kind of enjoyed it. Yeah it's unhinged, avant-garde, noisy and haunting. It even feels quite tribal and definitely gives the atmosphere of a ritual sacrifice. The dance-punk element is there though, in enough measure to make this whole thing somewhat danceable. No doubt that it verges on aurally torturous at times, but maybe I'm just turning into a masochist? All I'm saying is if I'm in a situation where I'm about to be sacrificed, I'd ask for the murderous cult to put this on. It's approaching halloween so maybe I'm just in the mood for some spooky shit. Either way I enjoyed this and I think I could vibe with this again. Favourite: There's Always Room on the Broom

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Wed Nov 22 2023
5

Starts of really promising, experimental for sure. It has its lengths in sections (as is often the case with this kind of music imo), but still around 1000x more interesting and varied than all the 60s-rock/pop boringness. Would give like 3-4 stars, as I can't really pinpoint the replay value just yet and there could be more dynamic (even when it's loud and noisy it feels kind of held back), but then I remembered I've given way worse (especially way more boring and uninspired) albums 3 stars, so this gets 5.

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Fri Mar 01 2024
5

Hyped to get Liars! Bummed that this is their only album on this list. Either way, super fun, weird, creative, experimental album. Love their work!

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Fri Jun 28 2024
5

Yes, it's pretentious noisey bullshit. I'm pretentious and love noise. 5/5.

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Wed Jul 03 2024
5

this one was awesome. of course it got removed

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Fri Jul 05 2024
5

Weird and unique, I really enjoyed this one. I get why not everyone would like it, but this sort of experimental stuff is right up my alley.

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Fri Jul 26 2024
5

I'm glad 1001 albums recommended this, otherwise this would have never been on my radar. Never heard of this band or album until now but it is great. Experimental noise rock, driving beats, some catchy songs in there. Refreshing after having to hear so much Boomer crap. You can only take so much Eagles, Bad Company, Aerosmith tripe. "They Were Wrong, So we Drowned" is a fucking fresh breath of air.

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Wed May 10 2023
4

Can't say I understand why this is on the list, but I am glad I listened to it. The arrangements and instrumentation are challenging, yet I found my head bobbing along to most of them. Feels like a scary campfire story in musical form.

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Fri May 26 2023
4

Duurde even om met het genre vertrouwd te raken, maar daarna vond ik dit wel een goeie plaat

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Tue May 30 2023
4

Det här var koolt! Gillade inte sångaren jättemykke men musiken var unik, groovy, nasty. Intressant att höra på fast ja int vet hur ofta jag kommer återvända. Skulle ske oftare om det inte fanns sång tror jag

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Tue May 30 2023
4

Very cool album! I think their debut is their best, but as an evolution of those musical ideas and simultaneously a complete left turn this holds it’s own. I like the repetitive choruses used here and there, they’re catchy

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Sun Jun 11 2023
4

I'm usually not one for experimental rock, but this album was a blast. Definitely worth the experience.

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Fri Jun 23 2023
4

Way outside my comfort zone. I kinda liked it though? Terrible dinner music and I liked the album theme.

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Tue Jun 27 2023
4

Occult noise rock? Ritual dance punk? I'm down! I think I've listened to most of Liars' output once or twice previously, but I could definitely do with spending more time with them. I like their schtick. Fave track - "There's Always Room on the Broom"

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Tue Jun 27 2023
4

This is so great. Love the tracks Broken Witch, There's Always Room on the Broom, Hold Hand and It Will Happen Anyway as well as They Took 14 for the Rest or Our Lives. I look forward to spending more time with this band.

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Wed Jun 28 2023
4

Someone from the early 2000s that I haven't heard of - this is either going to be awful or obscure. And boy is it obscure. It's noise. It's also good.

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Wed Jul 12 2023
4

I had no idea what to expect going into this one. And I found that I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to. I could see listening to this one again. Maybe not soon, but sometime in the future.

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Sun Jul 23 2023
4

I liked it. I thought Liars were just another of those meh NME bands from the early 00s, but this is a noisy, weird and darlky fun record!

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Wed Jul 26 2023
4

I was living in Brooklyn during the 00s and had fallen in love with the Liars from the start with "They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top". Honestly when "They Were Wrong, So We Drowned" came out I was befuddled and felt a little betrayed and yet...after some time passed...was intrigued. It's easier for me now to see how they got from there to here and through on to other musical territory.

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Fri Jul 28 2023
4

Brilliant! Totally outside-the-box, no two songs sound the same. The kind of thing I'm here for

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Fri Aug 11 2023
4

Nice album, had to listen to it a few times

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Thu Sep 14 2023
4

The no wave brain tickles are most recognizable and appreciated, but there's plenty of push and pull happening as well. Semi-distinct is what I can only describe as fingers moving. If their decay is a kind of dance, dance is evoked here. Given the timbre, one has to add toes to those fingers; Adjust appetite accordingly.

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Mon Sep 25 2023
4

Cacophonous but pretty goood

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Thu Oct 05 2023
4

I quite enjoyed this. A new band - and album - on me. Inventive, dark and a little strange. Not sure it will be on heavy rotation, but worth another listen, and the experimentation, with hints of The Fall, Sonic Youth, This Heat and lots of other stuff I love, made a change from another hoary rock 'classic'. Not that keen on the cover, or title, though.

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Wed Oct 11 2023
4

Never expected this little craziness und this list. At first unhearable. Then dragging your interest limb by limb into this eerie cave where you cannot escape from. It was an album I didn‘t listen as much as it made an sustainable impact on my musical education. 3.8

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Wed Nov 01 2023
4

And so we drowned. A pool of boiling faeces submerged us. What a way to go. I feel like it wasn't yet my time. I'm not an old man, not a bad man. Why must it all end here, drowning in a lake of shit, surrounded by some of the most vile individuals I've ever met? Did I deserve this? I'm Nigel Spackman, a fabled legend with an enormous cock and taste for GILFs. I can't die here in this rotten plug hole with Bort and Jai.

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Thu Nov 09 2023
4

different and unusual. i liked it a lot.

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Fri Nov 24 2023
4

I enjoyed it and appreciated it for what it is but I dont know that I’ll listen to it again

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Fri Dec 08 2023
4

A really weird one but I quite liked it

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Mon Dec 11 2023
4

Not a noisy as the reviews led me to believe and no way this deserves to be in the bottom 10. It’s surprisingly groovy in places and has a really cool industrial vibe that is somewhat reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. Would much rather listen to this again than a lot of the boring one hit wonder 50s and 80s trash on this list

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Tue Dec 19 2023
4

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album and was skeptical after the first couple of songs, but the album did grow on me a bit. It is certainly not for everyone as it has a highly conceptual story line and is essentially a noise rock album. I enjoyed the various textures especially the rumbly synth sounds which were about a decade ahead of their widespread use in rock.

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Mon Dec 25 2023
4

Interesting - a bit of a psychedelic indie thing going on. The production is gorgeous and the mood eerie and dark-ish with a little mischief. I am not sure it's a record I am foreseeing I'd return to frequently, but I think this merits more than a couple of listens to really get to the meat of it. Also - it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

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Wed Dec 27 2023
4

My initial thought during the first track was 'oh no, not sure I can manage this today', but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. Quite weird and reminded me of some Flying Lotus, Melt Banana and even Radiohead in places. This is sort of thing that can sound fantastic when you are in the mood for it or horrendous when you're not.

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Fri Jan 05 2024
4

Really solid album. I love the dark atmosphere these guys created through much of the album. I love the noisier elements and the variety of genres included on this record. Don't really have a lot to say about it other than the vocals can be a little one note but it does fit the over all aesthetic of the album

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Tue Jan 16 2024
4

This felt familiar, and I was surprised that I hadn't heard this band before. Enjoyed it.

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Wed Feb 28 2024
4

I must be in a weird mood, cause I actually enjoyed this.

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Wed Mar 20 2024
4

Raw, sharp, and intriguing, this album showcases a possible scenario for punk rebellion. It features interesting songs with peculiar production that will keep you wondering what's next. I did not have "Liars" under my radar. Thanks for the recommendation. It's a nice addition to my playlist.

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Sun Mar 24 2024
4

Krass. Herausfordernd. Künstlerisch bewertet sehr cool. Aber schwer zu hören …

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Wed Apr 03 2024
4

I no longer want to be a man, I want to be a horse. I get it dude, I get it. Yea, some may write this off as noisy nonsense but not this fucking guy, I eat this shit up. Yea, you may not toss it on for a party but there’s something really interesting about the sludgy industrial songs they’re putting out here. Pulling from the past with their own indie dance post punk sound to it. I’m not gonna claim that I fully get it but confusion can be fun. 4 stars

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Thu Apr 25 2024
4

Something interesting about this one. It is different, but I like it. 3.75

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Fri Apr 26 2024
4

I enjoyed the horse song and I liked that it was only 40 minutes long, overall quite fun

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Mon May 20 2024
4

Pretty good sound. It grew on me

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Mon Jun 03 2024
4

This is dope, I'm familiar with Mess, a later one of there albums, this one is a bit more rough and organic.

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Fri Jun 07 2024
4

Not sure if I enjoyed it, but very interesting in a good way! 4*

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Thu Jun 27 2024
4

What a strange listen! Usually, noise rock tends to have no soul, but this was a welcome exception.

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Fri Jun 28 2024
4

An absolute trip. Not my type of music at all but it was so fun to listen to and figure out. For the type of music it was intended to be, it was very well done. Extremely unique and interesting, although it tended to kinda be earrape a lot of the way through. A lot of the drumlines were really cool, and many of tue musical elements meshed well despite the grungy instrumentation. 4/5 because i love how insane and cool it is. I also love that it tells a story of forest witches at a witch party

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Fri Jun 28 2024
4

This is definitely not the kind of music I listen to, but it was so unique and very well done for the genre it is. There is a lot of tension and humanity in this album in the weirdest way possible, so I can appreciate the art

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Wed Jul 03 2024
4

pretty great actually. really interesting shit going on here

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Thu Jul 04 2024
4

I feel like such a contrarian, but it’s nice to listen to an album that sounds like nothing else I’ve heard before.

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Mon Jul 08 2024
4

Maybe it's because I'm getting to the end of this challenge but this was great. It wasn't another endless boring 90s Britpop that all sound the same. It was trying sound different and it did and I loved it for that. I wouldn't reach for it to listen to all the time, but when I want something different I'll go to this. The song titles are also wild which I love.

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Mon Jul 15 2024
4

Interesting but jarring snd abrasive, not an easy listen (not really one to sing along to), but there's wit and fun concealed within and I liked it. Drown me if you like but different isn't bad.

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Tue Jul 16 2024
4

hullu mutta nerokas... aivan kahjo päästä mutta luovuus virtsaa ulos korvista... saksalaiset folk tarinat kerrottu tyylillä eksperimentaalinen tekno electronica kraftverkki saksanpaimenkoira musiikkilla... pähkähullut paskiaiset.. ei ollenkaan pretentious, kyllä, heillä on paljon musiikillista lahjaa.. neroja... eivät huonoja artisteja jotka tiedon ja taidon puutteen takia tekee eksperimentaalista randomia paskaa vaan NEROJA!!! ja lyriikat... absurd... heh... NEROKKAITA.... konseptuaalisuus unohtunut ehkä muutamilta, mutta ei näiltä, ei näiltä mussukoilta... we fenced

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Sat Jul 20 2024
4

Surprised and thrilled that Liars are on this list. I would not expect that based on a lot of the stuff included on here. Not my favorite album from them (Drums Not Dead!!), but an excellent album, and a nice change of pace from the norm here with something challenging.

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Fri Jul 26 2024
4

Weird, cool, clangy. Stretching the boundaries of what music can be, and yet clear and coherent of thought at the same time. Surprising and rewarding.

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Fri Apr 21 2023
3

Þetta er... áhugavert. Þarf að hlusta aftur við tækifæri. Mjög hrátt.

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Tue Apr 25 2023
3

5/10. Didn't sound great, but the witchcraft themed concept album aspect of it did a lot to save it in my mind. I could listen to this in the background on Halloween.

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Sun Jun 04 2023
3

An album that feels like each track is pulling in a different direction – was hoping for a bit more out of this one, certain songs are executed well and show strong songwriting, but when each track feels like it’s off a different album it’s hard to constitute a focused LP.

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