The Scottish guitarist and vocalist Billy Liar is equal parts acoustic folk troubadour and electric punk rager, and his \u201970s influences are certainly present on this sophomore studio album that\u2019s ideal for fans of Frank Turner, Against Me!, The Gaslight Anthem, The Menzingers or The Clash.<\/p>\n
The hard-hitting but completely melodic \u201cOblivion\u201d opens the listen with pounding drums and charged guitars that suit Liar\u2019s gritty yet heartfelt singing. \u201cBaltimore\u201d then follows with well-timed keys and soaring backing vocals for the more careful climate, and \u201cNegroni\u201d follows with the aforementioned Frank Turner on vocals for the crisp and anthemic duet. <\/p>\n
Packed in the middle is the abrasive drumming of \u201cPhantom Limb,\u201d where the bass acrobatics and lively energy make for a swirling punk demeanor, though it\u2019s the swift guitars and busy interaction of \u201cOstrich\u201d that will make any punk rock enthusiast an instant fan. <\/p>\n
A calmer moment happens near the end, where the raw and intimate \u201cDon\u2019t Trust Anyone\u201d eventually builds into a powerful delivery of ebullient songwriting. \u201cHogmana\u201d then picks up the pace with a speedy Celtic delivery that might remind you of Flogging Molly, The Pogues or even US legends like Rancid; the latter\u2019s frontman, Tim Armstrong, has already praised Liar as one of the best punk artists today. <\/p>\n
The longest track, \u201cTroubled Mind\u201d exits the listen, and focuses on acoustic guitar and Liar\u2019s diverse pipes for the most vulnerable tune, and it certainly illustrates his diversity.<\/p>\n
Liar takes help from Tim van Doorn (bass), Robin Guy (drums), Joe McMahon of Smoke Or Fire fame (guitar, vocals), Dave Parker (guitar), and The Hold Steady’s Franz Nicolay (keys), who make for a blistering but also attentive listen for punks who own plenty of Billy Bragg records, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":34989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10949],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-46861","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-billy-liar","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46861"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}