Tonight I watched The Blair Witch Project on television for the first time in quite a while. Before you read on, you should know that I may possibly spoil some of the film if you've never seen it before. But really, where the fuck were you in 1999? Anyway, the closing sequence: crazy irritating woman runs around frantically in a desolate dark house in the middle of nowhere before good fortune intervenes and she is struck down, dropping her grainy camera to a dusty floor. This, in turn, made me think of Liars.
Unfortunately Drum's Not Dead is at least seven years too late to be considered as a possible accompany piece to the aforementioned film, and that is a great shame, as the two are now bedfellows in my mind. Not just due to Liars already established interest in witches (see 2004's excellent They Were Wrong So We Drowned), but more simply because of the pervading dark, unsettling mood the album creates through its often gritty production, droning vocals and throbbing sound collages. Most songs seep comfortably into one another, retaining a similar mood, feel and sound reminiscent of early Sonic Youth crossed with mid career Black Dice and the obligatory mention of This Heat and Einstürzende Neubauten.
Continuing with the "album as a singular piece rather than a collection of songs" angle, every track here bar one has either "Mt. Heart Attack" or "Drum" in the title. Certainly, it is the bands most percussion centered work to date and a far cry from their early post-punk incarnation. The one song that stands out, in terms of being different rather than necessarily better is album closer "The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack." Very much a case of the light at the end of the tunnel; it provides the few hopeful, sunshine graced few minutes on an otherwise morose record. Granted, if I was reaching for one record to take with me to play while I sit and drink heavily in the middle of the woods alone at night I'd still go for Wolf Eyes' superb Dead Hills EP, but Drum's not Dead would not be far behind on my short list.
Much like The Blair Witch Project, Drum's Not Dead will have its fair share of detractors. Having any semblance of being "hip" will do that to you though, and it's hard not to fall short when some people hold you aloft so high. The Blair Witch Project may not be the scariest film ever made [personal note: it isn't] as many claimed at the time, and similarly Liars are not the saviors of noisy art rock, but I still enjoy both all the same.
