There’s a pretty evident irony to the fact that with every passing album cycle deflating the intricate mystery behind The Armed, the extremely-jacked-noise-pop-by-way-of-anonymous-hardcore-punk outfit has only gotten more difficult to define. While there’s certainly an argument to be made that their past two records have seen them slowly sink into the trappings of conventional pop music in the admittedly avant-garde post-SOPHIE/post-gecs era, there’s a certain contradiction to these songs, as perfectly highlighted on the final single arriving ahead of the Detroit-formed collective’s upcoming fourth album, Perfect Saviors.
“We tend to be drawn to juxtaposition and trying to make disparate things fit in new ways to discover some novel aesthetic resonance or emotional response. Some push and pull,” shared the band’s vocalist Tony Wolski of their new track “Liar 2.” “This is a dancey, happy track about being in the deepest pits of despair and giving way to lies and delusion as your only means of survival. It is a chocolate cake full of broken glass—the sonics of the track itself, seemingly in denial of the lyrical content.”
Barring its heavy lyrics, the track’s instrumental blends the feel-good energy of radio-ready pop with the buzzsaw clamor of mid-’00s noise rock dressed up enough to fit the track’s mold. Appropriately, the music video sees a guy who may or may not be concussed dancing to the track like his life depends on it on an unassuming city block. Check it out below, and pre-order Perfect Saviors before it drops August 25 here.
