“To release the album out into the wild is really quite exciting.” Before their sophomore LP ‘By Design’ releases in July, vocalist Ian George and drummer Adam Oarton of alternative rock band Amongst Liars talked to us about the new album, upcoming tours, politics, and so much more.

In an extraordinary twist of fate, ‘By Design’ will release on the same day as the UK General Election. Given the socially conscious nature of the album’s lyrics, Ian claimed that they couldn’t have asked for a better result— “We knew the election was going to happen: the government’s falling apart and it was getting more and more pear shaped. I said to someone, ‘I bet it’s on the actual day, when they call the election.’” The band were in high hopes for the general election, as well as for all their exciting plans to come after: “We’ve got the launch that day, so it’s going to be the last time I get to sing ‘fuck the government.’ Then we’ve got the whole tour after it, which will hopefully be a celebration of ‘see you Tories!’”

As for the album itself, a striking element of ‘By Design’ is its various genre combinations and fusions, reaching into rock, punk, electronic and far beyond. Speaking on this, Ian shared the diverse range of influences that have led to such a unique sound— “We’re taking from Linkin Park and Queens of the Stone Age but then we’ve got the modern bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Bad Omens, Architects. We’re into lots of different styles— anything from dance music to thrash to reggae to whatever. It moulds itself together.” The group’s approach to their sound could be summarised by the passing comment, “I don’t think I ever want to write an album— I don’t think any of us do— that ever sounds the same.” This musical experimentation seems to come from the jamming of guitarist Leo and drummer Adam, who write the skeleton for most tracks before bringing it to the rest of the band. As Adam himself explained— “We try and change it up. Me and Leo will get in the studio and we’ll have some ideas of a different type of track: it’s thought of more musically than lyrically. When we’re onto something, we know, and then it ends up writing itself. Then we feel good about it and we get everybody else involved.” A prime example of this is the punk-infused single ‘You Are Not A Slave,’ which Adam revealed was written seven years ago, and for another band at that!

After the songs have a musical base, vocalist Ian puts lyrics and melodies to them: across By Design, he explores a wealth of emotionally resonant topics, taking a critical look at the world around him, as well as exploring mental health. When asked what he felt the central message of the album was, Ian declared— “For me, it’s hope, in one word. It’s about trying to get positives out of shit situations. Empowerment’s another one: I wrote a lot about mental health and the government. We’re not overly political, but these things lend themselves to that conversation, I suppose.” Speaking further on these issues, Ian shared his perspective on current issues— “Everyone’s in the same boat, at the end of the day. We’re all in this country together: everyone wants to make their own way and do their own thing and there are obstacles both in your mind and being forced upon you. That’s the way I engage with it.” Later on, Ian would go on to name ‘Vice’ as his favourite track on the album due to its messaging and context, saying, “I was going through a tough time and it helped me come out with that.” Adam, conversely, was excited about the newly released title track, saying, “I’ve really been looking forward to this one being released and I’m so glad that a good music video has gone with it. It would’ve been such a shame to have a bad music video for such a great song but I think they’ve complimented each other so well.”

These themes are a great match for the record’s striking artwork, which features a woman with an exposed heart, a strange growth on the face and a host of other distinctive traits. Speaking on the cover, Ian declared that before they ran into artist Pierre Englebrecht, “we were really struggling with artwork and we were coming up with shit, basically.” Delving further into the band’s relationship with Englebrecht, he said, “We sent off some ideas and he came back with these amazing designs and we’ve gone with those for every single cover. I gave him a synopsis of what it’s about and he came up with four or five images for the album— we had the choice to be bold or to go with a softer image and everyone said to go with that one. It’s all about rebirth and it ties in lyrically as well.”

The band were also keen to discuss their upcoming UK tour alongside James Kennedy and the Underdogs. Adam shared his clear passion for performance, saying, “We love playing live: it’s our favourite part being in a band, to see the fans and interact with them and play our hearts out to them. That’s the best part, I think.” He described their show as “a bit of a rock rollercoaster,” as the setlist opens on the thunderous single ‘You Are Not A Slave’ before transitioning between a plethora of genres and moods: other hits from the album, including ‘Vice,’ ‘Alibi’ and the title track were all confirmed for the setlist.

Speaking finally on the band’s progression up to this point, Ian and Adam reflected on the band’s success up to this point. As Adam explained, “We just take it in stride and keep on going. We just want to get further and better and reach more people and get more fans and interact with them. The whole journey is amazing.” Ian also looked back at the influenced that fans have had on the band— “We got such a good reception: that kind of powered us on. If we didn’t get such a good reception, I don’t think we’d be here, would we?”