I’ve noted many times on previous posts that some of the best rock music today is coming out of the UK. Perhaps it’s the rich musical legacy, the prickly politics or even the persistently dour skies that spurs such incredible creativity, but whatever the reason, there’s no denying the consistently high quality of British rock. One of the indie bands that stands out among many for me is Amongst Liars. Their fiercely aggressive style of melodic hard rock, forged from a dynamic and colorful trifecta of alternative rock, grunge and punk, has earned them a dedicated and passionate following, me included. With support from Kerrang Radio’s Johnny Doom, Moshville, BBC Introducing and Great Music Stories, their songs have garnered airplay on local and national radio throughout the UK, and have been collectively streamed over 177,000 times on Spotify.

Based in the Brighton/Eastbourne area along the southern English coast, Amongst Liars consists of Ian George (lead vocals, guitar), Leo Burdett (guitar, backing vocals), Ross Towner (bass, backing vocals) and Adam Oarton (drums). I’ve written about them numerous times, but to recap, they formed in September 2019 from the ashes of two successful previous bands – Saint Apache and Katalina Kicks. Not only are they all highly accomplished and talented musicians, they’re nice guys too. Ian in particular has been very supportive of me and my blog, which of course makes me a loyal fan who’s more than happy to support them as much as I can.

Beginning with the release of their spectacular debut single “Over and Over” in February 2020, they’ve followed with five more singles, the latest of which is “Kill the Tide“, which dropped October 8. All six singles will be included on their forthcoming self-titled debut album, due out in Spring 2022. I’ve previously reviewed four of them – “Over and Over”, “Wolf Machine”, “Burn the Vision” and “Black Days” (you can read some of those reviews by clicking on the related links at the end of this post) – and three have charted on my Weekly Top 30. All of their songs, along with the entire album, were recorded, produced and mixed by David Radahd-Jones at Red City Recordings in Manchester. “Kill the Tide” was mastered by Grant Berry at Fader Mastering.

While they don’t consider themselves a ‘political band’ per se, Amongst Liars have been pretty outspoken on some of their songs about what’s happening in the UK and beyond. Band vocalist Ian George explained “We’re not preaching at anyone or trying to change the world. We’re just saying these are the things that affect and concern us.” On “Wolf Machine”, they called out inept and ineffectual governments led by power hungry politicians, while “Burn the Vision” denounced those who’ve sought to profit from the misfortune of others by distorting the media with fake news to spread their own narratives and lies. “Black Days” railed against the last 10 years of Tory rule in the UK, calling out austerity measures, questionable decision making, incompetence, lies and self-serving political bias.

On “Kill the Tide”, which was the very first song they wrote together after forming in late 2019, the band reflects on their own personal traumas they experienced over the collapse of their previous bands that ultimately led up to their formation as Amongst Liars. They describe the song as an “anthem of rebirth” that tells the story of their formation and determination “to dig deep and come back even stronger.” Ian explains: “Our new single has its genesis in our beginnings, yet it also marks a new chapter for the band. Despite the enormous challenges during lockdown, we used the time to focus on our songwriting and to issue new material regularly. During this process, we found our sound, we pushed ourselves, and we grew as songwriters. ‘Kill the Tide’ marks that evolution.”

In an interview with VENTS Magazine, Ian elaborated on their experiences: “Originally I was in a band for many years that imploded in mid 2019, and was really let down over the space of six months by a succession of people I really trusted. The other guys were in a different band who had a similar experience, being let down by people too, and we kind of knew each other before that having played a show together, so I reached out, we met up and it just clicked. It’s what bonded us so quickly I think, when you go through similar things. The title for the song came from a group chat when we were looking for a band name. Someone suggested ‘Kill the Tide’, which we didn’t like as a band name, but I thought that it would make a great song title. And with that title, the lyrics for this song just flowed and came quite easily – and helped me personally move on from the past, so it was very cathartic writing it!“

Tonight we’re gonna demonstrate
So long – we nearly got it right
Those eyes they want to self-assure
Your side I can’t give any more
Those lies you’re not the only one
No end without a setting sun
Alive – you’ll never take it
When your hearts not in it – your head’s on fire
For what’s it worth
This wreck of hurt
I cast it all aside
I will embrace, I will insist
You are no friend of mine
In all I am – and all I see – I’ll bring it back to life
Don’t kill the tide, don’t kill the tide

The song was originally recorded in late 2019 with a long intro, but this past April, the band asked David Radadh-Jones to cut the intro and remix the song to make it more ‘fresh’ sounding. The result is a tight, beautifully-arranged melodic track that delivers the powerful driving rhythms and fearsome riffs we’ve come to love and expect from Amongst Liars. The song begins rather tentatively, with Adam’s gentle drumbeats and Ross’s soft vocal chorus, then Ian’s raw vocals enter the proceedings as the music ramps up. At 34 seconds the songs blasts open with Leo’s heavy chugging riffs layered over Ross’s throbbing bassline and Adam’s pummeling drumbeats. Ian’s vocals rise to the occasion, displaying the spine-tingling emotional ferocity that makes him one of the finest and most exciting vocalists in rock music today. I love the contrast between his intense vocals and Ross’s gentler backing vocals in the verses. Leo lets loose with a terrific guitar solo in the final chorus that takes the song to the next level.

“Kill the Tide” is another fantastic banger, and further proof Amongst Liars are a band to be reckoned with.

The official video shows the band giving an electrifying performance of the song in a studio space at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne. It was produced, directed and edited by Josh R Lewis, with assistant editing by Robert Ruardy, the same team who produce all Amongst Liars videos.

Along with “Kill the Tide”, Amongst Liars has also released an exclusive (and elusive) B-side “Crucify”, a blistering song of protest. Their raging guitars, crushing bass and thunderous drums are positively mind-blowing, and Ian’s already feral vocals sound more fearsome than ever. The track will not be available on streaming sites, but only by download for one week only, via their website at https://www.amongstliars.com/

Those of you fortunate enough to live in the UK can see Amongst Liars at one of these upcoming shows:

Follow Amongst Liars:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream their music:  Spotify / Soundcloud / Apple Music
Purchase:  Amazon