Liars: WIXIW

By Otis Hart, NPR Music

I'm going to get this joke out of the way and then we can move on:

WIXIW

is the best Radiohead album since

Kid A.

Liars album — as you will many times over the next week — imagine Thom Yorke's falsetto taking the place of Angus Andrews's less distinctive but no less effective voice amid the barrage of intricate electronics. Sometimes, it's almost as if Andrews is rubbing it in The Ponytailed One's face, like on "Ill Valley Prodigies" or the title track. These are the types of tunes disappointed Radiohead fans wanted on

The King of Limbs.

WIXIW (pronounced "wish you") is Liars' "electronic" record — and a darn good one, too. Whereas Radiohead basically mimicked their favorite U.K. bass producers on

The King of Limbs, Liars' productions, aided by Mute Records founder Daniel Miller, don't sound of any particular time or place. I shouldn't need to tell you that's a good thing.

WIXIW's penultimate track, "Brats." You won't be disappointed.

WIXIW will be available to stream on demand from May 28 through June 4, 2012.