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"Liars is a three-piece band consisting of Australian-born Angus Andrew (vocals/guitar), Aaron Hemphill (percussion, guitar, synth), and Julian Gross (drums). Although initially lumped into the New York dance-punk scene of the early 21st century, they have come to be categorized by their dramatic stylistic shifts between albums, while retaining a consistent interest in rhythm and sound texture.
The genesis of the band can be traced to Los Angeles, where Andrew and Gross were enrolled at Cal Arts, studying photography and graphic design, respectively. Hemphill had studied microbiology in Junior College in San Diego, but was currently employed in LA at a record store. Upon meeting, Andrew and Hemphill began their collaboration on four-track recordings. Once Andrew had completed art school, they relocated to New York. Although Gross was not a member of Liars' NYC-period roster, he was often taken along on tour for hawking the merchandise and providing comedic banter. For the time being, two musicians from Nebraska, Pat Noecker (bass, formerly of Neuromancer, Urethra Franklin, and Opium Taylor) and Ron Albertson (drums, formerly of Mercy Rule), filled out the band's rhythm section after responding to a well-placed want ad.
This line-up (Andrew/Hemphill/Noecker/Albertson) released the first Liars full-length, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, in October 2001. The album was recorded in a mere two days. Despite lackluster promotion by their record label, Gern Blandsten, the energy of the album eventually bought Liars their fair share of hype amidst the much-publicized dance-punk scene of New York. The band was not averse to this attention, but the problem of being pigeonholed (expressed already in the album's title) became an even more pressing challenge for them to overcome.
Due to differences of creative methods, it was agreed that Noecker and Albertson would leave the band to pursue other work. (They currently comprise two-thirds of NYC-based No Things, along with vocalist/guitarist Christian Dautresme.) Meanwhile, Andrew and Hemphill reunited with Gross to form the next (and current) incarnation of Liars. The first release from Liars as a three-piece was a split EP with the band Oneida, called Atheists, Reconsider (released December 2002 by the Arena Rock Recording Co.). Liars contributed a cover of Oneida's 'Rose and Licorice,' as well as two originals. 'Dorothy Taps the Toe of the Tinman' is a 7+ minute sound collage of kitchen-sink percussion, ambient drones and static, and cut and paste spoken words. 'All in All, a Careful Party' is probably the first characteristic/characteristically confounding Liars 'pop' song. It relies on repetitive, eclectic percussion, non-traditional instrumentation, chant-like vocals, and great attention to sonic texturing."
[reproduced or excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Liars (band)" and its use is thus licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License]
