White Lies - Big TV Review

rating: 4

In 2009, White Lies appeared from nowhere with their debut album 'To Lose My Life', which raced to the top of the UK Charts. There was something fairly clever about this debut album: White Lies had managed to successfully reproduce the post-punk sound from the 1980s but enthused it with modern production. Of course, the post-punk revival had been around for a few years yet White Lies followed Editors' example by producing songs that had dark themes coupled with infectious hooks. White Lies were just one of many bands that represented a new era of British 'Coldwave' that has continued to flourish due to The XX. 2011 saw the release of White Lies' second album 'Ritual' which took the sound from their first effort and slightly changed it by imbuing it with electronics. It wasn't a bad album by any means but it was a slight disappointment compared with 'To Lose My Life'. Ritual started well but faded badly towards the end with songs that seemed to lack any sort of hook or melody. The lush production from the first album seemed to be lost within the electronic sounds and effects. So, how does Big TV compare with White Lies' previous work? Well, it is probably best to start looking at the album as a whole since that is what is what the band wants us to do. Whilst in production, the album was touted as being a-sort-of-concept-album-with-all-of-the-songs-connected-with-a-general-feeling. This idea works pretty well until the last quarter when it seems to fall apart. The first two tracks seem to symbolize the beginnings of a relationship whilst the the middle third seems to suggest a relationship in turmoil. The album is roughly split into three by a couple of one-minute interlude instrumentals called 'Space i' and 'Space ii' which bare a close resemblance to The Cure's 'Seventeen Seconds' album from 1980. There is one inescapable problem when listening to 'Big TV' though; by the 10th song ''Tricky to Love' you begin to get the feeling that you've heard everything before. Any connection between songs becomes automatic because there is very little that is new or particularly original here. Harry McVeigh's vocals are excellent and although he's constantly compared with Ian Curtis he is certainly a better singer than people give him credit for. McVeigh's guitar playing is similar across all three albums with heavy reverbed chords backed by dark synth lines. Charles Cave's bass-lines are somewhere between those already written by Simon Gallup and Peter Hook with a bit of pop-punk mixed in. Jack Lawrence-Brown's drumming is still typically early 1980s post-punk although it is more prominent here than it was on 'Ritual'. The links to the past don't end there either; White Lies belong to Fiction Records which was practically held together by The Cure from the late 1970s until 2004. We perhaps should look more positively at White Lies' influences though. Even though they have always had a familiar sound which harks back to British Alternative Rock they could never be accused of being rip-offs. They have forged their own style which is helped by a grand production style on their releases. 'Big TV' is truly no different. Yes, the keyboards on the title track sounds ever-so-slightly Depeche Mode. Yes, sombre-track 'Change' features vocals straight out of Ultravox and a keyboard line similar to Eskimo Joe's 'London Bombs' but brought together these influences or similarities produce something that is unmistakably White Lies. This album features some of White Lies' most sing-a-long melodies so far which is impressive considering they have not lost their darker edge unlike The Killers - but they were always more mainstream than White Lies. In any case, 'Mother Tongue' and 'Be Your Man' have some of the best verse-chorus progressions written by the band to date. Lead single 'There Goes Our Love Again' is fairly typical single material and is in a similar vein to 'Bigger Than Us' from Ritual. Track 7 'Change' is Big TV's epic emotional track with production stripped back to just McVeigh's voice and keys. The effect works extremely well and is a welcome change (ha - get it?) from the rest of the album which is mostly upbeat. 'Change' manages to be emotional without being annoyingly melodramatic and forced as some songs were on 'To Lose My Life...'. http://youtu.be/trZrAKsBX30 One aspect White Lies have finally got right with 'Big TV' is track-listing. Whilst both 'To Lose my Life...' and 'Ritual' featured a jumbled order of tracks that had no real flow 'Big TV' is almost the complete opposite. The middle of the album is particularly strong with 'First Time Caller', 'Mother Tongue', 'Getting Even', 'Change' and 'Be Your Man' showcasing better and stronger songs as the album goes on. The only criticism would be that both 'Space i' and 'Space ii' are one placed one track too early. Unfortunately, outside of some good tribal drumming on 'Heaven Wait' the last two tracks of the Big TV are largely forgetful which is a shame as the album builds up some great momentum in the middle third. 'Big TV' is the band's most consistent album to date as it reclaims the darkness of 'To Lose my Life...' with an added maturity in song-writing. The sound may be epic and grand at the moment but it remains to be seen if the band can adapt their style without losing focus such as they did on 'Ritual'. The electronics have thankfully been reduced; however there is always a nagging feeling that we've heard it all before. Key Tracks: Be Your Man, Getting Even, Change, Tricky to Love