[engl] Well, look who’s back! There was a time not so long ago when Liquids’ Mat Williams seemed like the most prolific lo-fi maverick this side of Robert Pollard, as the Indiana collective pumped out two albums (one a double) and a whole mess of tapes and 7” EPs between 2015-18. With a line-up that’s best described as ‘fluid’ (no pun, my babe, no pun), although it once included Mark Winter of fellow weirdos Coneheads on drums, Liquids burned brightly in a haze of creativity, grinding hardcore, Ramonescore pop, Devo-inspired weirdness, new wave and more into their own rough-edged concoction. It was addictive, it was fucked up, it was quite possibly genius (seriously, if you’ve not heard 2016’s ‘Hot Liqs’ LP, go right that wrong immediately). Then… nothing. Until last year, that is. Liquids re-appeared in 2021 with a brand new album that dropped online out of nowhere. Who’s in the band? Fuck knows. Williams, you’d presume - they’re not known for giving much away. The surprise offering picked up where they’d left off, with sneering melody turned all the way up and fidelity right down, except this time they’d come armed with country balladry, an unexpected dip into doo-wop and a full-throttle smash’n’grab raid on Meat Loaf’s overblown anthem Bat Out Of Hell. Yep, really. It’s titled ‘Life Is Pain Idiot’ and it might just be the best thing they’ve done thus far. So here’s some more good news: Drunken Sailor are now bringing this mighty collection to vinyl, so you can treasure it just as much as ‘Hot Liqs’ or the ‘Live At Mat’s House’ tape or ‘Heart Beats True EP’. Put it on your turntable, put it in your ears, just put it somewhere and accept that you will love it. This is inevitable. Liquids have got a lot of things right, but here’s two more for starters: life truly is pain, and we are indeed all idiots. This album goes some way to redressing the balance when it comes to the former, and as for idiocy… well, you ain’t getting any smarter by not listening to it, dummy. Get involved.