How Many More Times

Now, you wouldn't expect the "Liars":http://www.liarsliarsliars.com/ to cover a classic rock monster like Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" just like that. For a band used to digging out the land under their own feet, you know you're in for something special as soon as you start taking out the vinyl from the cover.The record - a split 10" with Gerry Mitchell & Little Sparta, released as limited, numbered edition of 500 copies, part of "Fire Records":http://www.firerecords.com' "Keep Mother":http://www.firerecords.com/site/index.php?page=firestore&view=keepmother series, is one of those special, limited edition offerings which could raise suspicions in a seasoned independent music enthusiast: are these tracks interesting, or merely very, very rare?Liars deal with the Led Zep classic in a fashion similar to what they did to their own sound on their last LP, "Drum's Not Dead" - they stretch their rendition to over 11 minutes, and make it start out with a protracted, minute-and-a-half long electronic noise opening. Then, at some point, Julian Gross' drums kick in, filtered through reverb, as if they had always been there, waiting in the adjacent room. The band launches into the main riff, and Angus Andrew delivers the lyrics with the kind of falsetto tone he imposed on himself in "Drum's Not Dead" - only so clad in filters and effects it sounds half-phantasmagorical, half-mocking. Then they break up the main theme, and diverge into another bout of sound experimentation, including the closest Aaron Hemphill has been to a regular, "normal" guitar solo. They eventually make their way back to the riff, this time for a protracted drum coda, and then end the track with the same sound environment which opened the track.It is unclear whether the track has been recorded specifically for this release, or whether it is an outtake from the "Drum's Not Dead" sessions (the interplay of different sound environments prompts me to think so), or whether it belongs to a more recent session. It remains revelartory of the kind of sound experiments which take place in the "backstage" of the Liars' production. It sad that it is such a limited edition - though it is highly recommendable.Update: here's a low-resolution mp3 of the track: