Revolt of the Apes’ interview with Liars is up now at the official Austin Psych Fest 2014 website. Read the entire interview there, and look for the complete text to show up here in the very near future. Here’s an excerpt:
Can you recall what your earliest musical obsessions were? Do those obsessions continue for you even today, or has your enthusiasm shifted a bit? Are there any distinct ways in which you’ve noticed your overall appreciation and enthusiasm for music evolve in recent years? To what do you attribute this change?
Robert Smith. I was basically raised for the early part of my life by my older teenaged brother. He was ahead of his time as far as music was concerned, and brought home all of The Cure albums as they came out.
The Cure is one of the few bands all members of Liars can appreciate. The Cure has been a constant source of inspiration for the band through our shifting focal points. Be it the early days of repetition and bass lines (“A Forest”), sparse simplicity and vocal melody (“10:15 on a Saturday Night”), and incredible instrumentation and production (“Lullaby”), as we grow as artists there’s always something new to be noticed in their body of work that we are constantly drawn to.
Our musical taste and enthusiasm is a direct reflection of what we’re experiencing with Liars, it seems. While it’s an obvious correlation, it’s nonetheless exciting to experience something new in a song you’ve listened to for over ten years that inspires how we make music.
One of the most sincere ways we can compliment the music of Liars is to say that it truly does not fit into any single category – and yet, it feels complete, as opposed to a haphazard collection of sounds. Do you think you remain conscious of the variety presented throughout your albums, or have you perhaps come to see it all as a part of the Liars’ musical universe?
I think it’s as simple as making sure we are making the music we want to hear that we can’t find in other music. Sticking to that as our guide seems to give us enough confidence to follow whatever unknown path our inspiration takes us to, yet hopefully feels like it’s coming from the same place. We’re really grateful to have a support system that provides an outlet for our music and creative adventures. The way we feel we can best appreciate our situation is to work as hard as we can on following our inspiration as thoroughly as possible.
Revolt of the Apes is pleased, stoked and chuffed to support Austin Psych Fest 2014 through a series of interviews with many of the artists involved, answering the kind of ridiculous questions you’ve come to know and – maybe – love. Many more coming soon.
Revolt of the Apes 
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