by Charlie Sussman
Sometimes our favorite artists journey into uncharted territory, and unveil something beautiful along the way. Such is the case with the Nervous Sessions, a collection of remastered fan favorites by Northwest Indiana punk rock staple group, Liquids. In collaboration with Erik Nervous, a name well known amongst all midwest DIY punks, Liquids’ frontrunner, Mat Williams masterfully recreates 12 songs across 25 mins of music in the highest quality of sound he has ever recorded in.
Liquids have never been shy from experimenting with their sound. There have been multiple instances of Williams playing live shows with a pre-recorded drum track backing him on guitar and vocals. Not known to say no to playing a show, it doesn’t seem to matter to the lo-fi mastermind as to how he performs, so long as he is able to play. Since 2016, the band has released a crazy amount of music via Bandcamp, ranging from 3-track singles to nearly 30-track albums. While the song writing is almost always high quality, the sound quality of the recordings can sometimes be really lo-fi, which is a trait that fans seem to adapt to regardless.
Enter Erik Nervous, a DIY engineer who got together with Williams sometime in early March to re-record ‘the hits’ that made Liquids the band it is today. The Nervous Sessions resemble the idea of art that the audience doesn’t necessarily know they need until they hear. With Williams recording in extremely hi-def and much fuller quality than usual Liquids’ recordings, we are able to fully appreciate how good this band is as an audience. Williams has never sounded better vocally, and when putting the original recordings of tracks like “Bat Outta Hell” against the remastered one, everything comes across so much clearer in the “Nervous” version. It’s not that the original recordings don’t get the job done, but Williams’ talent as a musician is much more apparent when all of the instruments are mixed and mastered in hi-def.
All in all, the Liquids legacy can most definitely stand on its’ own without the Nervous Sessions. All of these tracks were incredible upon release. While the reason for releasing a reissue like this may be unclear, it also seems to be irrelevant. This is something most people didn’t even realize was an option before it was released. Hopefully, these two DIY visionaries continue to work together extensively in the future, but it seems almost inevitable that Liquids will be the forever brainchild of Mat Williams.