Powerful, Uncorrupted Lies
The end of summer is always a poignant time and with immaculate timing ,Coventry band Lies return with an album to cast light on the impending dark nights. Their latest offering, Pendulum, is a
strong offering from the three piece. It begins with Forgotten, a powerful opener with guitars that reminded me of peak Echo and the Bunnymen. Dayglo is a quite poppy offering that would make a good
single.. One of my favourite tracks is Volcano. The lyrics sound like they are a pisstake of Mr Saturday nightclub man. I hope they are. Vocalist, Dean, has a ball with this, like a warped James
Brown..
These Words are a driving force of complementary guitars which illustrate the fine production values at work here. Cool Train is kept on track by one of bassist John Docker's excellent
throbbing basslines that pay homage to dub. There's more four string class at work in Nameless. These Words sounds like a tale of an encounter with a woman from broken home hell, played out to a
top nightmarish spaghetti western backing.
No Foolin You, features trademark urgent drumming from Martin Watts and it's a song that has echoes of PIL's legendary Metal Box. But what I like about Lies, is they take their influences and
forge them into something new of their own. While you feel there has been meticulous care taken over the mix, it doesn't lose the freshness or enthusiasm the songwriting has generated.
The album will be available online shortly, free to download from Bandcamp as is the band's back catalogue. It's well worth a listen as Lies are a band who at the top of their game, using new
technology in the studio to hone their writing skills. They're not content to age gracefully and still have the anger that cause the punk influenced to pick up instruments. It's tempered with a
willingness to experiment with sound that does them credit. Do believe the positive truths you hear about Lies.
