Mark Edwards in the Sunday Times gives 'Liars' a two out of three star rating and compairs Todd to Bowie as an artist who "get a bit lost in their late thirties and forties (often getting sidetracked by shiny new technology and ultimately uninteresting interactive projects) [but] find a new relevance when they hit their fifties". Edwards adds himself to a growing list of reviewers that are not keen on 'Truth' or 'Mammon', but feels Todd gets "pretty damn close to his sublime early 1970s heyday." with Flaw, Afterlife and, especially, Past. The Daily Express meanwhile is happy to say, whilst 'jumping between styles could be annoying, Rundgren's solid songwriting allows him to pull it off".
Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...
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