Tenebrous Liar - Tenebrous Liar

The drifter stands alone on the desert steppes, muttering the blues under his breath and the ghosts of some distant harmonica hang in the dust storm blowing around him. As the sparse landscape gives way to the rush of buzzing guitars, it becomes clear that Tenebrous Liar are foraging an alternative path that Nick Cave could quite easily have taken, like a mild-rock version of The Proposition soundtrack. In fact, with its time-stretched slide guitar and surreal cosmic melancholy, this album could almost be a blues album directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It's a shame then, that the lyrics sound so often shallow and dumb: looping refrains such as "I want to be a fisherman" or "I hate America" around his tongue, singer Steve Gullick occasionally makes it seem like a good thing that he mumbles his words. But even so, for those who like their post-blues thought-provoking and harrowing, Tenebrous Liar are a trip. [Ali Maloney]