The shapeshifting, uncompromising architects of experimental post-punk and sonic deconstruction are back from a five-year hiatus to rattle our collective consciousness! Spearheaded by mastermind Angus Andrew, Liars have officially announced their monumental upcoming studio album, A Ban on Plastic Bag Bans—slated for release on March 5, 2027, via Mute—alongside a striking new visual companion for lead single “Ice Pick, Kalamazoo.”

• The Anatomy of a Michigan Awakening: Triggered by Andrew’s relocation with his family to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and titled after an actual, idiosyncratic state law, the new record was forged out of intense personal and environmental friction. Confronted by a toxic air crisis stemming from a local packaging factory, Andrew channeled that psychological and physical claustrophobia into his art, noting: “It wasn’t just the environment that was polluted, it was also my mind.” Rather than a literal diatribe on modern waste, the album tackles the eerie ways systemic pollution and systemic absurdity become ingrained, invisible constants in our daily perception.
• A 3D Visual and Live Resurrection: Shot by Andrew himself on a 3D camera amid the city’s No Kings rally, the video for “Ice Pick, Kalamazoo” matches the track’s tense, avant-garde edge with raw, immediate documentary grit. The release also marks a busy new chapter following Andrew’s recent ventures—launching the No Gold label and the Essential Tremors festival series—as Liars gear up for a slate of UK and European dates, including a landmark 20th-anniversary, front-to-back performance of their classic 2006 record Drum’s Not Dead at Poland’s Unsound Festival.

The MusicWayATX Verdict: “Ice Pick, Kalamazoo” is a thrilling, abrasive reminder of why Liars remain untouchable innovators. A Ban on Plastic Bag Bans is shaping up to be one of the most vital, unsettling releases of the coming year.