DESCRIPTION:
…oh, right, Liquids has a Bandcamp page.

I totally forgot that it was a thing. Prior to a week or so ago, there was nothing up there but the “Ruff Demo”, which was just an early mix of select tracks from “Mat’s Demo”. I was pretty surprised when I first came across their page, because it’s typical for bands from that region to avoid having an internet presence, only really surfacing on punk nerd’s Blogspots and Youtube channels. Seeing that the only thing up there was a single, invalidated release, it would’ve seemed safe to assume that page has been completely abandoned. Well, it seems that Mat Williams has proved me wrong on that stance, because a few weeks back he uploaded some new stuff to his otherwise-inactive Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04FPGyPU-SI), with those videos being a two-track EP made by Clay Fritz, and a separate Liquids video that has since been deleted. I didn’t get ahold of the vid before it was taken down, so I can’t say what it was exactly, though I do recall it being super lo-fi and clipping non-stop with the audio. Are we missing out on anything worthwhile? Knowing Mat and the Liquids, probably. Unless one of you dorks actually downloaded it, that thing’s lost in the ether.

One week later, on the 25th, Mat uploaded two new releases to the Liquids’ Bandcamp page, effectively resurrecting it from a near-two year slumber. Those two new releases were the “‘Blindin’ Flash EP”, which the majority of us are likely already familiar with, and something totally new. “Hot Liqs”, a whole 16-fucking-track LP, out of nowhere. Now, I may just be dense, but I’ve never heard of this release before, at least not until two days ago. I didn’t catch anyone talking about it, no blogs or punk sites writing uninspired articles, not a single person linked it over to me to spread the good news, absolutely nothing. Am I missing something here, or am I just a giant idiot? Or did everyone just miss this because it was uploaded to a page that’s been inactive for almost two years? I have no damn clue, it’s been over a week and not a single person has uploaded it yet. It’s not even included on the Liquids’ Discogs page, I would’ve assumed all those Discog nerds would’ve updated that in a heartbeat. And it’s not like it’s just some promo or teaser, if so, that’d make for a long-as-hell promo or teaser.

But it is what it is, 16 brand-spanking-new recordings from this fantastic Indiana punk rock n’ roll group, meaning it’s well worth a post based on that notion alone. Whether or not this is an actual tape or a soon-to-be-pressed LP (highly doubt this would find its way onto wax, but who knows) is totally beyond me, I’m really the worst guy to ask about that. What I do know, however, is that “Hot Liqs” is a total god-send. Sixteen new Liquids recordings, making a return to approximately 75% of their songs that have found their way onto cassettes in the past, along with what I believe to be a completely new instrumental, “Howdy”. By now, everybody is already way past-familiar with the Liquid’s splendor, but be prepared to be impressed even further with the majority of these recordings. A number of these tracks have such radical changes that can instantly revitalize year-old material. “Sick Shit”, “Dumb as Fuck”, and “Heart Beats True” are the first few songs with significant changes that come to mind, but a number of other tracks follow suit by further embellishing the already brilliant music through additional chords and hot, hot licks. The Liquids has never sounded so fresh before. It may only have one new song, but this is easily my most favorite Liquids release, hands down. So many gems make a much welcome return, like “I Killed Donald Trump” (now stylized as “I Killed D.T.) and “Permission Slip”. Hell, “Dumb as Fuck” only appeared on their “Live at Mat’s House” cassette (which I still need a rip of by the way, if any of you could help out with that, I’d really appreciate it), meaning this is the song’s first real appearance on a stand-alone release, as far as I can tell. I think it goes without saying about how good this release is, it’ll be sure to woo anyone who considers themselves a Liquids fan. Get it now, lest Mat delete it or something. I don’t know the guy, who knows what’s went on in his head to remove that older video. I’m guessing it’s a quality control thing. I dunno, I’ve seen pictures of him wearing overalls, so how high could his standards possibly be?

Teasing. Overalls are as cute as a button.

TRACK LIST:
I Killed D.T - 0:00
Howdy - 0:57
Swarm - 2:47
Blinding Flash - 3:56
Head Meat - 5:43
Sick Shit - 7:24
Speed - 8:47
Dumb as Fuck - 9:38
World of Shit - 11:17
Fire - 12:52
Piss On Me - 14:28
Permission Slip - 15:57
Ants - 16:45
Heart Beats True - 17:53
Brandon's In Jail - 20:08
Trashcan - 20:51

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/download/jpcp94dq7b47n27/Hot_Liqs.zip