Liars / Brudenell Social Club

Liars are a band who certainly appreciate the value of keeping things fresh. Having spent the last decade carving out a new niche in the spectrum of alternative music with the shifting shape each successive album presents, the incarnations their live show could take are multiple. Sometimes unsettling, often complex, always innovative – Liars are a band that resist definition.

The first half of their Leeds set perhaps undercuts the intricacies of their recorded output, with the punky squall of opener 'Plaster Casts of Everything' setting the tone of the show. Although undeniably exciting, moments like the title track from last album 'WIXIW' lack the tense atmosphere of their record counterparts.

However, after the contemplative 'The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack', the show benefits from a slight gear change. The band all move to man various electronically bulging flight cases for brilliant recent single, 'Brats', one of the better club bangers never to be acknowledged.

So who really are Liars? On the evidence of tonight, perhaps the video playing behind them provides the most cogent proof. Shots of the band clearing, and rebuilding a room full of equipment, with frontman Angus Andrew taking a piss on the drumkit, sum up their ability to deconstruct, and reimagine both their sound and the genres they inhabit. As the video ends with all three members’ images being refracted through mirrors, before being united under the band’s logo, the statement is clear – the Liars sound is whatever they deem it to be.