Two years have passed since I reviewed the Lies' Underdogs and Infidels. The band's sound has, naturally, evolved during that time; while they still sound more than a little like Bauhaus, they've abandoned some of their low-rent Goth trappings -- particularly the heavy vocal reverb -- and have begun a tentative exploration of the big scary world beyond minor-key gloom.

The simple, cheerful guitar melody that launches "Accident & Emergency", Resigned's first track, briefly suggests that the band has gone the indie-pop route. Don't panic; the song's driving melody, combining an array of ultra-heavy keyboard chords and a gently chugging guitar riff, comes down like a cartload of bricks, lending a curious, cloying weight to what would otherwise be a mild-mannered pop song. "Perverse", a bittersweet ballad punctuated by a striking, keyboard-intensive refrain, helps to increase the disc's mourful air. "Spartacus" rams the darkness home, its funereal pace sparked by urgent, cascading goth-style drum fills and knife-edge minor-key guitar work, all shrouded in a heavy wash of vintage keyboard drone.

"Cosmetic" continues the dirge-core assault, with Dale's atonal vocals droning over a complex drum pattern and interlocked layers of guitar and keyboard while a piano plunks away sepulchrally in the background. The edgy "Rogues Are Weary" highlights the Lies' stylistic debt to Tones on Tail and the "Batcave" bands of the early eighties, while "Sight & Sound" and "A Certain Surround" prove that the band can write catchy, new wave-y pop songs when the mood strikes them, though the latter tune features creepy, funeral-home-style organ effects. The remaining tracks offer more of the same, with "The Party Line" standing out; with its dense analog keyboard riffs, assertive bassline and catchy chorus ("You never had the time/to tow the party line"), it sounds like a fleshed-out No Wave classic.

The Lies are definitely moving in an interesting direction. Yes, they sound more than a little like early eighties Goth groups, but they've made the sound their own, ignoring the genre-based limitations that made those groups -- in retrospect, at least -- rather one-dimensional. However, while Resigned is clearly a step forward for the Lies in terms of instrumentation and production values, I didn't like it quite as much as Underdogs and Infidels; the songs aren't quite as catchy, the intricate rhythms less welcoming. In general, the band's songwriting skills seem to be lagging a step behind their technological know-how. I hope they'll take the time to narrow that gap before they record another album.