We No Longer Knew Who We Were

The latest of Brooklyn's music makers to create a big stir. A total of three songs recorded prior to their full-length, "They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top." Here the Liars gleefully mash up a number of eras, including punk, hip-hop, and new wave. Their performance is energetic, chaotic, and very, very loud. With short, choppy riffs and bottle-breaking drumbeats that together create a dynamic, rhythmic snarl. That's when everything breaks; the bass jives in a fortified funk; drums kick forcefully, the vocal tone shifts from robotic drone to spastic wail. It's a dramatic, exacting chaos, chock full of the kind of political punch that has earned the group references from such acts as Gang of Four and The Pop Group.