Thieves & Liars

Thieves & Liars have all the components to be a big hair band in the late 80s or, since they are a Christian band, the mid 90s. They have a certain Jack Black appeal, except it seems T&L is taking glam rock seriously, even though that’s pretty hard to do. Like other music movements it had its place and time; however, to attempt a glam rock resurrection here and now is lunacy. If you are tired of your Petra tapes and you want a little more edge American Rock ‘N’ Roll might be worth your time. I don’t think many would argue that Thieves & Liars are a Christian version of bands now being heard on classic rock radio.

A lot of what makes classic rock classic is its originality. There are some exceptions, but for the most part these were the innovators. T&L and their latest release sound more like the tsunami of bands that followed AC/DC and the like. For instance, take the lead off song, which happens to be the title track. I can’t help but take issue with the overly simple lyrics. “Built this land on Rock and Roll / Oh My God He gave me soul / All my life I’ve wondered why I get this feeling all the time / My body needs to let it out.” Also consider the second verse. “U S A has let me see I’ll be all I can be / Serve this land with my voice / What you do is your choice.”

“Let’s Rock” is the second track. It begins like a Harley road trip, and could be fun if you could just block out the words, not the singing, just the words. Consistently throughout this album the lyrics are like a blemish on what would otherwise be mildly entertaining work.

The only ray of sunshine can be found on track six titled, “Killed a Man.” This rocking zydeco number has a killer slide guitar intro played to a rolling snare bayou beat. The only disappointment was that this song was lacking a guitar solo. C’mon, with all the guitar solos on this album there was at least one to spare for this gem of a song.

Art can be viewed from a multitude of perspectives. This fact will shape one’s opinion about Thieves & Liars. Some artwork can be analyzed and dissected for hidden meanings while artwork done for merchandise packaging is meant only for fun. If a deeper meaning is sought one would certainly come up disappointed. I feel it’s appropriate to quote Francis Bacon here, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” The same applies to music. T&L might be worth the taste but don’t look for a large amount of substance. If you’re looking for an album to put on at a party this might be a good choice, otherwise move on.

Tagged as: American Rock 'N' Roll, Thieves & Liars

↓ One comment

#1 Polprav on October 23rd, 2009 at 4:02 am

Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?

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