They Were Wrong, So We Drowned

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

1 because I'm feeling generous.

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?

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

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.

Instant hate.

If a Hangover had a soundtrack. Truly horrible noises.

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

I really liked this band. Used to listen to them quite a bit. This isn't one of my favorites by them. And I'm surprised that this is the one that's on the list. I really liked their first album. Their self titled album, Sisterworld, WIXIW and Mess. Honestly haven't really listened to much of their stuff since Mess. There's some songs off this album I'd listen to pretty regularly, but like I said, definitely not my favourite by them.

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.

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

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.

not a sing along in the car album is it.

Awful but I've heard worse on this list

[shakes head] Fucking Brooklyn.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Going into this having read two reviews which are very polarising. Don't know what to expect so hopefully this will be fun Broken Witch: A little odd but honestly I quite like it. Scratches my brain nicely. It's a little too repetitive for me though so I'll give it a 3/5 Steam Rose From the Lifeless Cloak: Kinda just noise. It's nothing amazing. Just noise getting louder. 1/5 There's Always Room on the Broom: I like the witch/witchcraft imagery on this record. And we get vocals this time!! Exciting! It's scratching my brain aaaa 3/5 If Your a Lizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses?: 1/5 just for the incorrect pronoun. Also this noise isn't even nice noise its just too loud. We Fenced Other Gardens With the Bones of Our Own: Long title damn... I found it very boring so I skipped it They Don't Want Your Corn, They Want Your Kids: The noises in the back remind me of video games. Weird title. My opinion on this is going down. Honestly, I don't want to finish this album. The songs are very similar to one another and I'm not enjoying it as much as I expected to at the start, as my ratings are just going down and down. From what I've listened to, it gets a 2/5, which is generous honestly

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned Never heard of this, but Liars is such a generic mid 2000s indie band name I assumed it would be something akin to Hard-Fi or Reverend & The Makers or any other mid-tier band of that period. I really loved the concept of witchcraft and witch trials etc, but I found it struggles to create much atmosphere or ambiance to evoke that. I now understand they are an experimental noise rock band, so a creepy folk feel is not in their wheelhouse, and the slightly awkward nature of the songs is what they are going for, but I think it does need some gentleness and melody to balance the experimental elements of their music and reflect the themes they are writing about. On the occasion it does work it’s decent, when the droning and rhythm sync and the keyboards bring some life, like on They Don’t Want Your Corn, They Want Your Kids and when the tribal rhythms create some spookiness on Read the Book That Wrote Itself, or when they deliver a suitable spectral feel on Flow My Tears the Spider Said, but too often its horizontal banging repetitiveness drags and the songs feel much longer than their run times. Conceptually it's great, but musically it too infrequently delivers on that concept and consequently it’s difficult to sustain much interest. I had thought it may be a grower, but I didn’t feel much closer to it by the end of the third listen, and I started to get the sense that it’s not as smart or as challenging as it believes it is. It’s not unlistenable, and I’m all for people going off into weird corners and making esoteric and idiosyncratic music, but I feels this isn't that great an example of that, and even though I like the concept that’s not enough to make want to come back to it, so it lands as a solid 2. 🧹🧹 Playlist submission: They Don’t Want Your Corn, They Want Your Kids

Pretentious noise bullshit. 2 stars.

Dreadful!

Yeah, this is bad

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.

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

What a great album, lt needs to be listened to in one go and not treated as a traditional LP with tracks. It's really fun. Think of it as a movie.

Vamos hoy martes con una banda que desconozco por completo. Gracias como siempre de antemano por estas presentaciones. Dicho esto, estamos en presencia de algo experimental. Recuerda inevitablemente como todo el noise a Sonic Youth pero un poco menos punkie: mucha guitarra disonante y batería hipnótica, voces oscuras que interpelan y generan ése mismo estado de cuelgue. Nuevamente, gracias por las rarezas. Hasta mañana.

10/10 huge fan of the psychotic post punk scene that came out of NYC in the 80s very similar to one of my alltime favorite bands, Swans

Never heard of this band before. This album is wild. The first 3 minutes of the opening track are off-putting. It's a weird stop, start, repetitive to the point of annoyance, and then it stops and the drum beat kicks in. Awesome use of tension and release. The droning tribal parts are where it's at for me. An entire album of tracks like "We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own" and "Flow My Tears, the Spider Said" would be in heavy rotation for me. If you only listen to the first few minutes and dismiss it, you'll be missing out on a groovy album. It's as weird as can be and will really push your comfort zone. The generator did me a solid today. Nice Sunday morning listen.

I was right, so I didn't.

I really liked this!

Usually I’m aware of a bands earlier works, and know very little about their modern releases. Liars is the complete opposite. I’ve been a huge fan of their newer stuff since about 2014, but I’ve never ventured back further into their catalogue. I’m glad this list gave me the opportunity and reason to. This record is sort of exactly what I was hoping for when it came to old Liars. It’s slower and less electronic than their newer stuff, but it has the exact same post-goth tinge to it that I absolutely love. The vocals are spooky and ominous, the lyrics ride the line between the occult and nonsense so well. There’s some really cool utilization in this record of the 60 cycle hum that I find really interesting too. I really enjoyed this one. 5*.

Hoooo boy, am I looking forward to the reviews here. I remember 'enjoying' this when it came out. Also for a completely different and beautiful sound check The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack off the follow up. They had a few decent tracks here and there in the decades that followed but not as consistent an album as this again. Broken witch and Room on the Broom are fucking bops. And absolutely guaranteed to clear the room of unlike-minded people. Also my ZX Spectrum appears to have materialised and spontaneously loaded a game in response. So now I'm playing Target Renegade. They Don't want your corn, they want Your Children is about as close to 'pop' as we're getting here. Ooh it got removed from the book. Incorrect, Dimery! Fully incorrect. I usually agree with the removals but they're usually stupid inclusions in the first place. A record this different and interesting should have remained. I think I enjoyed this all the more because I stuck it straight on after Elton John.

Complètement assumé, sans justification ; solennel, ne laisse pas de répit. J'aime les titres des pièces, j'aime l'atmosphère pesante et sombre, toutefois sans éclats

Love this album. It’s like the soundtrack from a yet to be made Robert Eggers film about two villages at war over accusations of witchcraft, failed crops and general weirdness in the 17th Century. Wish they’d done a 20th anniversary tour of this album as would be absolute mayhem. The album is 4/5 but the brilliant song titles give it and extra half mark and another extra half mark to juice the score.

this is awesome and i think everyone who disagrees is lame

earlier this week i contracted some sort of condition that leaves a constant smell in my nose that i feel everywhere i go but no one else does. it is not a good smell, almost like cheap paint. it's not unbearable and it's usually not very strong but sometimes it flares up and i can feel every note of it. i thought it would be cool to make music that sounds like that smell but unfortunately i am not a musician so i can not make that. turns out 20 years ago someone captured exactly what i was thinking of. this album is almost comforting in how constantly unpleasant it is. spectacular work, as of publishing this review I've listened to this album 4 times. top 5 lowest rated albums on the site? nooo, no no no.

it's not even that good but i love u liars

Never heard (of) them before, only two of Liars' members in Beck's Record Club cover of INXS' "Kick", as I've just found out. I'm glad I do now. Hear it. Easily the most I Listened To With Ongoing Interest And Curiosity the generator has given me in the past 12 days. Abrasive, nervous, but without the edgelord attitude of being intentionally annoying. Not to my ears, at least. Sometimes like if Portishead's "Third" and gritty, noisy Sonic Youth had a baby. This is cracking. Love the drums. I have a long evening walk scheduled today, looking forward to putting this on again. "Rating 2.06", lol, you people.

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.

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.

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

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!

Not for me

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

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!

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.

Went in with low expectations, but actually enjoyed it. 4/5

Not bad actually, something completely different.

Love some of their other stuff much more but this is good

That was pretty trippy. I am will be checking out their other work

Had never heard of these guys! Cool discovery that could maybe become welcomed into my normal rotation in the future.

I swear to God, the people on this site are an enigma. Y’all be like “Why does Neil Young get like a billion albums here” and “Oh my god, there’s so much white boy rock”. Then you get a weird unique album like this and rate the damn thing to near oblivion. Don’t you like actually want to like explore past your comfort zone because if not, why are you here? Ok for real, I get why people would dislike this. It’s weird and sometimes loud, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. But like, this wasn’t that bad. Not one of the lowest rated albums certainly. I actually liked this one. It certainly feels experimental, but like in a structured way. Through all the weird elements and loud guitar noises, there some strange, groovy bangers. Broken Witch is a great starting track, while There’s Always Room on the Broom transitions the sound into borderline creepy territory. Also, I love the ambient tracks like Steam Rose from the Lifeless Cloak and Read the Book That Wrote Itself, as well as the latter half of Flow My Tears The Spider Said. To be honest, I’m not even a quarter done with this project, but it’s weird that an album like this gets ravaged while there like a hundred forgettable albums on here that came and went for me. Honestly, it’s worse to have no impact than it is to make people squirm. Maybe I’m the kind of freak that enjoys shit like this, but that’s on me. Long story short, this was pretty good. You’re all just mean. Favorite track: Hold Hands And It Will Happen Anyway Other hits: Broken Witch, Steam Rose From The Lifeless Cloak, We Fenced Gardens With The Bones Of Our Own, Read The Book That Wrote Itself, Flow My Tears The Spider Said

Noiserock: Standaard een 1. Wazige geluiden: standaard een 1. Matige zang: standaard een 1. Algemene waardering: 4 Noiserock: Midden in de nacht geluisterd, dus op zacht volume. Wellicht ervaar je de herrie dan niet zo. Onverwachts komt de jongste beneden en begint hard op en neer te wippen op de muziek. Cachy noiserock dus. Of moet ik me zorgen gaan maken? Het is ook wel noiserock uit 2004, de grensen van een genre worden met de tijd wat opgerekt. Dit heeft zelfs een beat als basis. Wazige geluiden. Ok, eerlijk is eerlijk. De hoge piepjes irriteren me. Toch weten ze veel van het wazige geluid om te buigen naar muziek. Matige zang. De band waust soms wat over de muziek heen, soms is het meer schreuwen wat gemuzikaliseerd wordt. Algemene waardering. Dit album biedt een unieke beleving. En al worden veel a-muzikale ingrediënten bij elkaar gevoegd, er onstaat een muzikaal geheel. Zoals sommige mensen met alleen groenten best een eetbaar gerecht kunnen bereiden. Het is toch een prestatie. Het heeft zelfs iets pakkends. Dance-noise-rock. Of misschien noise-techno? Ik hoor soms ook wel iets van artiesten als Aphex Twin of T.Raumschmiere. Ga ik het nog eens luisteren? Denk het wel, sorry buren.

Very weird listen... I like it though.

This album's seemingly infamous on this site, it's one of the ones with the lowest scores, many of whom I enjoy lol. It's not gonna be the last time I will have to say it sucks that more people don't enjoy an album like this, but I do get it from the perspective of the average person and not someone like me who's a dedicated music listener whose favorite genres line up with this and many of the albums in the bottom rated. I think if anything the fact that albums like this get so rated so low is more indicative of how flawed the book is, while it is a fine resource for "expanding" your musical palette and getting you out of your comfort zone hypothetically, I think it can only go so far especially since the albums would be presented with only a small blurb describing their contents but not really much more about them or HOW to approach these albums, there's no real organization to how to approach some albums or genres besides the chronological style it's presented. I guess one can also argue that this site's challenge being random only makes the problem worse because you are just served an album daily with mostly zero context unless you look them up, maybe if you were going thru the book at your leisure you'd check off the music that interests you (made easier by online resources) it makes it an easier time, hell maybe the hypothetical copy of the book will be one without this album because it only lasted for one print of the book. Despite all that though, it still doesn't help the fact that you, hypothetical person who just gave 1 star to this album, have little contact with music like this prior and probably gave a bad impression of music that decides to go for something so rhythmic and sparce in a punk context instead of the typical melodies of your average rock album. So we are left with most people hating this than really coming away with something that's up their lane sadly. That's not to say the book or this site aren't a fun way to discover music, far from it, I think it's one very easy way to expand your horizons, but there's an obvious level to which this approach just winds up messing up how people find out about music that may or may not be too much for them. I could critique this all day but ultimately this is just an unique problem to the approach here, and plus there IS an album still which I've barely talked about: I had heard this album before when trying to check out Liars' discography which I never completed (laziness hit). This album is interesting as a 2nd album when you compare it to their debut which feels more in line with a lot of early 00s post-punk and dance punk, this one just hits an entirely different vibe, it's almost like they decided to have the barest essentials to making rhythmic and angular punk and made noise with the little they had; it makes for music that is so awkward and ominous on purpose and there's so much negative space yet I can't but enjoy the way this album feels so perfectly minimalistic and weird, especially when listening to Broken Witch and how it simply builds and builds all its elements into the weirdest punk thing to make me dance. The use of dinky synths to make noises which just can't help but make me curious as to what or where they are going with that like in "There's Always a Room on the Broom". It's experiments that you don't know where it will lead but you just have to meet it where its at, they become rewarding the more you dig into the little rhythms and noises do come together into songs that while not your usual idea of enjoyability it still manages to hit something in me, like an itch for music this absurd and weird that create this awkward atmosphere like I'm seeing these guys mess around in a basement that smells of cigarettes work out these songs for hours. If there's a flaw with this album is that I don't really care for the interludes going on much, they are fine, but they have little that interest me when the other songs have more going on and aren't just ambient interludes, I do think closing the album with something like that is effective as a sort of comedown. But yeah, is this album the best noise-weirdo-punk thing I've ever heard? Not really, but I do think it is very good and enjoyable for my tastes, in a way that I think deserves far more credit or at least chances from people, if not now maybe some other time, maybe after really experiencing more stuff like this. I don't think this sort of review sort of rant will convince anyone to reconsider all those weird albums they disliked but I do hope that at least the people who found this album interesting but are not quite at the point of full enjoyment can be encouraged to pursue more stuff like this, and who knows maybe coming back to it eventually to find it to be a favorite. Edit: I forgot to add this somewhere, but as a little addendum: if you didn't hate this but found it too minimal and would want more noise and dance, check their first album, it's very good and probably a lot more approachable sonically.

Tästä tykkää hän

I like this. I didn't necessarily pay much attention to the lyrics, instead I decided to focus on the instrumentals-- it was right up my alley. I had a good time.

These are the kinds of musical risks I enjoy. Not knock out great but it delivers a solid artistic musical statement the rides the edge of popular music while building something all its own. Engrossing at times.

Dark and intricate. Love the layering. Cool concept. Will return.

I really loved listening to this. The start is a bit rough, but after a while you really get immersed in the soundscaped and it becomes an almost transcendental experience. I love the haunting African rhythms and percussion here, gives the album a very ominous feeling. It's amazing just how groovy this album is with its minimalist approach and harsh noises, you can hear that Liars once made dance-punk. Really enjoyed this one and the low global rating on here isn't justified.

unique and interesting

Some songs were quite jarring, others pleasant

I don't think I got it.

This is pretty good, a little scary, but good music.

In 2004 I was going to Brooklyn clubs listening to music very much like this. I don't do that any more but I enjoyed this album a lot more than I had thought I would when I first opened it up. Weirdly melodic, creatively rhythmic, glad I gave it a listen.

Been a huge fan of Liars for years now. This isn't my favorite but it definitely laid the groundwork for the rest of their career. The tribal vibes and minimalist, dark beats are so effective at conveying a sinister vibe while still being groovy enough to make you bob your head.

7/10

Favorite Track: There’s Always Room On The Broom

There is something special about making a nightmare-ish album. Realistically a 2/5, but I dig this shit.

Albums I don't own: Kid A, London Calling, Harvest Albums I do own: They Were Wrong, So We Drowned Almost every album on this list has a decisive critical consensus, some of the ones that don't include this one & Kings of Leon's Only By the Night. What interests me is that both examples indicate a divide in critical opinion between the US and Europe. The 1001 book entry for Liars reads: "Although critics in the United States were not impressed by the album, European audiences embraced the nightmares." Similarly, the KoL Wikipedia article reads "A discrepancy between ratings of the North American and the UK press can be noted." The latter kinda makes me sad, I think it's a pretty great late aughts album. This album being more divisive makes a lot more sense. (I still don't understand why the critical divide would be split geographically though) The tense, claustrophobic atmosphere of "Broken Witch" sets the scene brilliantly for a horror-inspired rock album. The off-putting dissonance is weirdly kept in check by the danceable rhythms in "Room on the Broom" and "They Don't Want Your Corn". I feel like I've heard just enough no wave and gothic rock this year to give that balance some historical context. Twenty years before this album, Bauhaus was putting out some freaky dance tunes as well. How well they maintain that horror atmosphere through the whole album is up for debate. "Broken Witch" and "They Took 14" are proper, chaotic bookends, while the actual album closer, "Flow My Tears", unwinds into dark ambience and nature sounds- I suppose it works as a denouement while still staying relatively spoooky. "They Don't Want Your Corn", "Hold Hands" and "Room on the Broom" are more conventional but they sound far less like forest-bound pagans and much more like their noisy garage rock contemporaries. I want to single out that last one though, as iTunes lists it as my most played song on They Were Wrong (from today, but also April when I first listened to this). At about 15 seconds in, the most horrible distorted vocal starts, and repeats throughout the song. As far as anti-musical moments in albums, it ranks up there with the dog whistle at the end of Sgt. Pepper's. So WHY do I keep going back to that song >:0 WHY is it so catchy >:0 The editors were probably right to cull Liars from subsequent editions, but I find the list less interesting without them. Karen O: "Wait! They don't love you like I love you" the guy she's singing about: "I NO LONGER. WANT TO BE A MAN. I WANT. TO BE. A HORSE." HL: "Broken Witch", "There's Always Room on the Broom", "We Fenced Other Houses With the Bones of Our Own", "Read the Book That Wrote Itself", "Flow My Tears the Spider Said" December 14, 2024

Very weird

I never heard this before. I like it. It's fascinating. Weird. Not really songs. It was over before I understood what the hell I was listening to. Favorite song: they don't want your corn, they want your kids.

This is noise but really good noise

This is #day89 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... something wicked this way comes, right? To me, Angus Andrew is one of those visionaries able to create the weirdest of shit and make you drown in it. The band took a turn in 2014 with the release of Mess, and what we’re hearing here is more in line with their early work—raw, experimental, and post-punk-ish. It’s like The Doors filtered through the lens of Joy Division. A comparison is a bit off, but there’s certainly a haunting, ritualistic quality to this album (I've heard it's a concept record about witches). Is this a "must-listen before you die", though? It’s a challenging listen, no doubt. But it's also an album that keeps you hooked. I get to believe that sometimes music is all about disruption and/or making you feel uneasy. And in that respect, They Were Wrong, So We Drowned absolutely succeeds. After reading the reviews, I'd even bump my score up a bit. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day90.

Another noise and chaotic album, revolving pretty closely to hardcore universe. Fortunately, that's what I actually like, so Liars is now on my list of bands that I will thoroughly listen to in the future. As of right now it's just a four, but I reckon after few more tries this will be a very strong five.

Of all Liars albums, why this one? At their most 00's pretentious here. Liars flippin rule though. Guy who wrote this book gets one cool point back. Bound to lose it again very soon via some mediocre British wank.

Well, this was surprising. I really dug this album. It reminded me of Death from Above 1979. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

Had to listen multiple times to make sure I don't just like it because it's different Really the liked ZX Spectrum noises in There's Always Room on the Broom, vibed to the second half of Flow My Tears the Spider Said. And the sound in general was just pleasant to me

Cool

I completely missed Liars the first time around. I heard people talking about them constantly but I never took the time to check them out. I truly regret that. What a weird, fantastic album.

Fuck the system. You guys are a bunch of pussys who don't like anything "different". The amount of hate this album receives is unnecessary. Be real. It's not that bad. It's angsty. The lyrics are fun. It talks about witches. What more do you want? Is it the best thing I've listened to? No, but it's not hot garbage. If it didn't get such bad ratings, I would probably give it a 3, but just for the hell of it, I'm giving it a 4. Maybe that'll improve it's rating a tad.

Well this is shaping up to be some dark avant-garde shit. Broken Witch is formed around an amplifier buzz and breakbeat percussion. The song is way more enjoyable than that description should imply. Love the lugubrious underworld hip-hop vibe of We Fenced Other Gardens. They Don't Want Your Corn is a quick detour into dance-electro-pop similar in tone to some LCD Soundsystem and The Juan MacLean. Vocals feel like they are being delivered from someone sprawled out on a sofa in between hits of a cigarette. Read The Book That Wrote Itself reminds me of something horrorcore group Clipping would rap over -- deeply unsettling. This was eclectic and strange, but it kept my attention and I enjoyed more than I didn't. Soft 4 / 5.

I know most people hate this - but I was into it. Noise Post Punk just checks some boxes for me.

Okay yeah, don't remember how I discovered these guys, I think Sisterworld was the first I heard, and I LOVED IT, LOVE THIS TOO. noise, weirdo discordia, out of tune growling, bring it in heavy and hard, it makes me feel goooood

Ok, so here's the thing. This isn't "normal" music. This isn't bass, guitar, drums, vocals, 1-4-5, play rock blues until you die. This album represents thought, composition, direction. This album is a *choice*. I respect that.

Yay

This was a challenging, technical album that definitely took a lot of skill to pull off. It sounds very ahead of it's time: I hear some examples of sounds that would pop up later on Radiohead albums. I've gone back several times and have gone between a 2 and a 4. Given the aforementioned skill and some fun hooks that keep me coming back, this is a 3.5/5 -> 4/5