Tuesday, September 15, 2009

White Lies are Good Lies

A band that has caught my attention of late is the talented White Lies. Where they're from, I don't know, but its not essential to enjoy the music(Obviously). However, it would be interesting to know in order to decipher the musical background.
I'm going to take a guess and say that they're english. Influences I hear are The Smiths, Joy Division and the more recent Editors. If you like these bands its a safe bet that you'll like White Lies.
What made me sit up and take notice was the incredibly named radio single "Death". Now, I say incredibly named because...well, its not the kind of song title you'd normally expect a DJ to reach for. "And Next up we have DEATH!" Though that wouldn't be out of place on a death metal radio station who play alot of the band "Death"...But I digress...
The song "Death" is truly exceptional. Lyrically and musically. They make an extremely happy sounding song from extremely depressing subject matter. That is, contemplating mortality. The Chorus is Epic with the singer(Whose name I don't know) Cries out "This Fears' got a hold on Me!" while the chorus swells with major chords. Truly brilliant. Literally. If that sound was physical, it would be shiny.
Another song that caught me was "From the Stars". This song (and, indeed, the entire album come to that, which is unsurprising considering the influences I described previously) is thematically similar. It also deals with death but this song is different. It literally deals with death. the opening line is "I saw a friend that I once knew at a funeral, he took the time out to be seen". The heavy toms then kick in to keep a beat.
But these are just two tracks I have described. Throughout, the songwriting is superb. The lyrics create images that anyone with half an imagination can see. The music suits everything, creating suspense, building to a crescendo or just working unnoticed in the back while the lyrics work their magic. Awesome listening.
White Lies album "To Lose my Life" is recommended listening and is available now. If you can get your hands on a copy, DO IT!

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