AMONGST LIARS – Single Review: “Black Days”

One of my favorite new* acts to emerge in 2020 was British rock band Amongst Liars. I placed an asterisk by their name because, while the band was technically new, each of its members are all seasoned musicians who came together after the breakup of their previous bands Saint Apache and Katalina Kicks. Thus, they had the advantage of starting out with a built-in following that’s grown exponentially since their rebirth. In little more than a year, Amongst Liars have written and recorded 18 songs, including their debut album to be released later this year.

They released four of those songs as singles in 2020, beginning in February with their spectacular debut “Over and Over”, followed by “Wolf Machine”, “Burn the Vision”, and “Mind”. I wrote about three of those singles on this blog, which you can read by clicking on the related links at the end of this post. I like their music so much that two of their singles – “Over and Over” and “Burn the Vision” – ended up on my Top 100 Songs of 2020 list. Now the guys are back with their fifth single “Black Days“, delivering more of the fiercely aggressive hard rock and in-your-face lyrics we’ve come to expect from them. The track was produced, mixed & mastered by David Radahd-Jones at Red City Recordings in Manchester.

Based in the Brighton/Eastbourne area, Amongst Liars consists of Ian George (lead vocals, guitar), Leo Burdett (guitar, backing vocals), Ross Towner (bass, backing vocals) and Adam Oarton (drums). Not only are they all highly accomplished and talented musicians, they’re nice guys too. And while they don’t consider themselves a political band per se, they haven’t shied away from expressing their opinions and anxieties about what’s been happening in the world. On “Burn the Vision” for example, the band took aim at political leaders who’ve sought to profit from the misfortune of others by distorting the media with fake news to spread their own narratives and lies. With “Black Days”, the band launches a full frontal assault on the last 10 years of Tory rule in the UK, calling out austerity measures, questionable decision making, incompetence, lies and self-serving political bias.

The band further elaborates: ”The last 10 years have seen some really despicable and self-serving politics in the U.K, which have caused huge division across the country, with hardship, suffering and ultimately many deaths amongst some of the most vulnerable people in society. Even in the last year there has been a huge contradiction in the approach to dealing with Covid and a large number of people still remain excluded from help and support. It just seems to be one thing after another, with nepotism, cronyism, greed and a ‘one rule for them, another for us’ mentality – and no accountability for government actions at all. This song reflects our frustration, and we had to release ‘Black Days’ as a commentary on everything happening and the desperation that a lot of people have felt during the last 10 years. The black days and the fires we sing about are both caused and fueled by the very people voted in to supposedly protect and develop a healthy society.“

Amongst Liars always push their respective instruments to the breaking point in the creation of their signature explosive wall of sound, and they don’t disappoint on “Black Days”. The song opens ominously, with sounds of a buzzing alarm announcing an unfolding crisis, then Ian’s fearsome vocals enter as he wails at the top of his lungs “Black days are here now! Start the fire, burn it out!” From there, the guys deliver an unrelenting onslaught of shredded guitars and thunderous rhythms, laying waste to the airwaves like a rampaging sonic beast. They fully channel the strong sense of anger and frustration expressed in their searing lyrics into their music with a ferocity that’s positively mind-blowing in its intensity and raw power. As I’ve noted on my reviews of their previous songs, Ian’s a literal beast on vocals as he unleashes a full-throated denunciation of our failed and duplicitous leaders. It all makes for an electrifying, cathartic and highly satisfying listening experience.

The provocative and sometimes disturbing video shows footage of leaders like Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, juxtaposed with scenes of political protests and violence, patients dying of Covid, and vintage footage of nuclear explosions. It was produced, directed and edited by Josh R Lewis, with assistant editing by Robert Ruardy.