This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Fans of old-school U.K. post-punk have nothing to complain about this year. Except perhaps for a chronic case of deja vu.
First you had Interpol, Division Of Laura Lee and about a million other bands who decided it was time to resurrect the gloom-and-doom romanticism of Joy Division. Now you have The Liars, who bring in the funk along with plenty of noise on their debut album They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top. Using the wiry angularity of Gang Of Four, the buzzy screech of The Slits and the sneering funk of Johnny Lydon’s Public Image Ltd. as a starting point, this Brooklyn foursome adds a hefty handful of ’80s New York No Wave grit and some Jon Spencer Blues Explosion choogle to create an addictively anarchic hybrid that invites you to dance the dirty dog, then slaps you across the face for accepting. Plus they know how to use a cowbell and have some of the coolest song titles around — like Mr. Your On Fire Mr., We Live NE of Compton and my favourite, Grown Men Don’t Fall In The River, Just Like That. For that alone, these guys almost deserve a monument. Or at least a trench.
