TITLE: Liar
YEAR RELEASED: 1992
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: Puss (#12 UK, #2 UK Indie), Gladiator
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Boilermaker
LINEUP: David Dow, Duane Denison, David Wm Sims, Mac McNeilly
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Continuing their hot streak, Jesus Lizard creates another unholy racket and is helped by a split single with Nirvana.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Liar has probably the best known song in their catalog, mainly because it was the A-side of a split single with Nirvana. “Puss” was released with “Oh, the Guilt” by that other band as the B-side and the UK pushed it up the charts, and they got to play Reading thanks to it. Groovy!
This is rather much a continuation of the themes from Goat, except that the songs are moodier and creepier. “Zachariah” is a howling dirge that’s unsettling, “Boilermaker” jumps right in as the lead cut of the record with perhaps a veiled reference to heroin (“Dancing Naked Ladies” may be too, and “Gladiator” is just a loud festival of all that’s good about the Jesus Lizard.
Liar and Goat seem to be part of a set to my ears, with this one just a tad bit lesser. Still, it’s got some of their best work and you need to absolutely crank it (as usual).
NOTES & MINUTIAE: “Puss” was about a guy David Yow wanted to beat the crap out of because he was violent and actually did throw a woman down the stairs.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: Yes, a add on single and demos
GRADE: A-: Not everything in the alternative land that was great in 1992 was grunge. This still raises one’s blood pressure.