No one’s going to accuse Liars of subtlety. (Probably. Was Drum’s Not Dead subtle?) So it’s no surprise that Angus Andrew — the only Liar left(!) — discards any subtlety in Soft As Snow’s “Snake.” The Norwegian duo’s dark synth pop is held lovingly for a second in Andrew’s beefy hands before being ground against a running belt sander until it’s gouged near unrecognizable. The track’s slinky pulses, once coiled like a python before unfurling in hypnotic menace, have been shredded to industrial scrap, its digital components gnawed to broken-toothed wreckage in Andrew’s gaping maw.
And that’s just how it should be.
“Snake (Liars Always With You Remix)” is a deep, unsettling reminder of the menace lurking around every corner of whatever studio Angus Andrew holes up in, a broken house track pulverized into weird submission. The treatment fits Soft As Snow like a glove — a glove containing the Gom Jabbar Test of Humanity.
See? No subtlety. Just excruciating pain:
Soft As Snow’s Deep Wave is out April 6 on Houndstooth.