Liars | Sisterworld | A-

Experimental group Liars recently released Sisterworld, the follow-up to their 2007 self-titled album. Band members Angus Andrew, Aaron Hemphill and Julian Gross have largely turned away from the garage-rock antics of their previous work, focusing instead on putting unexpected elements into their music. Sisterworld, the Liars' fifth studio album, is eerie, mystical and ultimately captivating to ambitious listeners.

Right from the get-go, the band shows that they're not scared of toying with expectations. The opening track "Scissor" constantly juggles with harmonized singing, rapid-fire drums and guitar. The listener is pulled in all directions, waiting for more and each part of the song works. "Here Comes All the People" starts off with a mysterious, Robert Rodriguez-inspired guitar and develops with menacing hisses and string instruments. The song becomes increasingly sinister, as though the listener is succumbing to a nightmare.

Many of the songs reveal the group's current interest in slow buildups and sitar-like guitar. A notable example is "Proud Evolution," a five-minute track, in which lead singer Andrew repetitively chants, "Proud evolution/Proud evolution/you should be careful/you should be careful." The mysterious lyrics, coupled with heavy synthesizer and ambient sound effects, make this piece truly otherworldly.

The notable exception is "The Overachievers," which is a straight rock track. This song feels out of place with the others and while enjoyable, it is so frenzied it seems to be more fitting with their previous album. Yet the rest of Sisterworld flows nicely from song to song as a trip through the subconscious. Whatever music Liars records next will definitely be sublime.