Month: September 2023

Top 30 Songs for September 3-9, 2023

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's5 Comments

As we slide into September, Beach Weather remain on top for a second week with their breezy love song “Pineapple Sunrise”. Lana Del Rey’s “Say Yes To Heaven” moves into second place, while Canadian artist dwi inches up a notch to #3 with his delightfully boisterous “Overrated”.

Three songs enter the top 10 this week, the first of which is the enchanting dream pop gem “Kisses” by British band Slowdive. After slowly inching up my chart since debuting five weeks ago, the song leaps 12 spots to #6. It’s the lead single from their stunning fifth studio album everything is alive, which dropped this past Friday, September 1st. Shockingly, though it was released in late June, “Kisses” hasn’t yet charted either in the UK or the U.S. “Bones” by British rock band HEALER, which features some of the best power drumming of any song I’ve heard in a long while, moves up three spots to #8. “Walk Through the Fire” by one of my favorite American indie singer-songwriters The Frontier also moves up three spots to #9. And after dropping two spots last week, Beck Black‘s exuberant “Puppet Show” enjoys a resurgence, moving back up three spots to #7.

Making their debut this week are “bad idea right?”, the latest single from American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, at #29, and “Overcome” by British alt-rock band Nothing But Thieves, at #30.

  1. PINEAPPLE SUNRISE – Beach Weather (1)
  2. SAY YES TO HEAVEN – Lana Del Rey (3)
  3. OVERRATED – dwi (4)
  4. THE NARCISSIST – Blur (2)
  5. CALL ME WHAT YOU LIKE – Lovejoy (5)
  6. KISSES – Slowdive (18)
  7. PUPPET SHOW – Beck Black (10)
  8. BONES – HEALER (11)
  9. WALK THROUGH THE FIRE – The Frontier (12)
  10. PSYCHOS – Jenny Lewis (6)
  11. LAST TIME EVERY TIME FOREVER – Grian Chatten (14)
  12. GOOD VIBRATIONS – MISSIO (16)
  13. ORBIT – Gooseberry (13)
  14. DIAL DRUNK – Noah Kahan (19)
  15. ODYSSEY – Beck & Phoenix (20)
  16. FRANCESCA – Hozier (21)
  17. VAMPIRE – Olivia Rodrigo (7)
  18. WHY – Future Theory (8)
  19. RESCUE ME – Dirty Heads (15) 21st week on chart
  20. DAYLIGHT – David Kushner (17)
  21. DAYDREAMS AND ALGORITHMS – Eleanor Collides (22)
  22. CANNONBALLERS – Colony House (23)
  23. FORGIVING TIES – Deer Tick (24)
  24. WHAT WAS I MADE FOR? – Billie Eilish (25)
  25. LOVING YOU – Cannons (27)
  26. STUCK – 30 Seconds to Mars (9)
  27. RUNNING OUT OF TIME – Paramore (28))
  28. WHEN WE WERE CLOSE – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (30)
  29. BAD IDEA RIGHT? – Olivia Rodrigo (N)
  30. OVERCOME – Nothing But Thieves (N)

AMONGST LIARS – Single Review: “The Shameful”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews7 Comments

One of my favorite British acts making music these days is Amongst Liars, who play a fiercely aggressive style of melodic hard rock, forged from a powerful trifecta of alternative rock, grunge and punk. Based in the Brighton/Eastbourne area on the South England coast, the band consists of Ian George (lead vocals, guitar), Leo Burdett (guitar, backing vocals), Ross Towner (bass, backing vocals), Adam Oarton (drums), and newcomer James Brumeo (keyboards and piano), who recently joined the stellar lineup.

Photo by Duncan Tyler

I first learned about them in early 2020, and was immediately blown away by their explosive debut single “Over and Over”, which along with their third single “Burn the Vision”, ended up on my Top 100 Songs of 2020 list. Since then, they’ve dropped several more outstanding singles, many of which I’ve reviewed on this blog. In July 2022, they released their eponymous debut album Amongst Liars, an outstanding work featuring 11 tracks, including the two aforementioned singles. Now they’re back with “The Shameful“, a blistering ripper of a song overflowing with the signature searing riffs, pummeling rhythms and savage vocals we’ve come to love and expect from these talented gents. The track was recorded & mixed by David Radahd-Jones at Red City Recordings in Manchester, and mastered by Grant Berry at Fader Mastering.

While they don’t consider themselves a ‘political’ band, Amongst Liars are not afraid to tackle some of the pressing socio-political issues of the day, including war mongering for financial gain, poverty, greed, fake news, deceitful politicians, election fraud, human rights abuses and climate change, and they’ve been outspoken advocates for social justice on several of their songs. On “The Shameful”, they call out politicians and media personalities who bombard the public with bullshit and lies to gaslight and confuse, turning us against one another and causing us to vote against our better interests. Band vocalist Ian George elaborates: “[the song is about the world of bias and misinformation that we are living in today. Government (with certain characters more prominent than others) and media are in increasingly bending perceptions to their own narrative and it is just happening all the bloody time isn’t it! This gaslighting and brainwashing distorts reality for many people and causes anger, hurt, pain, division and distrust.“

To drive home their message, Amongst Liars unleash a furious barrage of raging guitars, chugging bass and smashing drumbeats, laying waste to the airwaves like a rampaging sonic beast. Leo shreds his guitar to the breaking point, while Ross and Adam keep the thunderous rhythms blasting forward with a breathtaking intensity, fully channeling the strong sense of frustration and anger expressed in the biting lyrics. Ian has a commanding vocal style that turns downright fearsome when he needs to get his point across: “As the violence drags me through, I’m at peace with you. Gonna cut me down the easy way. As the shamers stand in line, sing it one last time. Gonna make me a believer. Talk is cheap anyway – get to know your enemy!” As he savagely wails the final words “As the shamers stand in line, sing it one last time. Just let it go!“, I’m left covered with goosebumps.

“The Shameful” is their hardest-hitting and most ferocious single since “Black Days”. I’m happy Amongst Liars continue to create outstanding music, and if you’re a fan of explosive and melodic hard rock, you will enjoy this single.

Like for all their singles, the terrific surreal artwork for “The Shameful” was created by the brilliant artist Pierre Engelbrecht. A young woman is shown lying on her bed, sunlight streaming into the room while she blissfully watches what I’m guessing is her TV. Her brain, which has been disengaged from her skull, hovers above her head in a locked cage that’s connected by a chain to her ankles. Pierre’s works are beautiful, bizarre and sometimes disturbing, but always amazing, and you can see them by checking out his Instagram account.

Amongst Liars will be opening for Canadian hard rock band Theory of a Deadman on their The Dinosaur Tour later this month, beginning Friday, September 22nd at the Electric Ballroom in London.

Connect with Amongst Liars:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Find their music on  Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Amazon