White Lies' debut album fails to live up to all the hype. (To Lose My Life... - White Lies)

Member Name: DUKE41

Product:	To Lose My Life... - White Lies
Date:	12/04/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It includes all of their four singles.

Disadvantages: On the whole it's a disappointment.

West London three piece White Lies have been called "the hottest new band in England" and they were certainly very good when I saw them live during the NME Tour in February alongside Florence and the Machine, Friendly Fires and Glasvegas who were described as "the best new band in Britain" by the aforementioned music paper.

White Lies have been classed as "nu gloom" by that paper again and their music has been compared to Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure. So does their debut album live up to its hype? No it doesn't I'm afraid. Don't get me wrong, all four singles are really good including the latest one, Farewell To The Fairground which has got a really catchy chorus. "Farewell to the fairground, these rides ain't working anymore" etc.

But comparing their lead singer Harry McVeigh to legends like the two Ians, Curtis and McCulloch is a bit like comparing Ray Quinn to Frank Sinatra. McVeigh and co. will have to improve a lot if they ever want to have the longevity and influence of Joy Division and the Bunnymen. In fact McVeigh has more in common vocally with McCulloch's former friend Julian Cope which isn't a bad thing at all.

Most of the other six tracks on To Lose My Life plod along. From The Stars is particularly slow in tempo. " I saw a friend I once knew at a funeral. He took the time out to be seen" sings McVeigh.

During one of the album's better tracks (A Place To Hide) McVeigh sings the line, "And I'd be laughing at the end of the world. But take my hand tonight, I think we'll be alright girl". Quite an uplifting line and according to bass player and chief songwriter Charles Cave the band are "not depressed people" and their lyrics are "introspective".

One of the biggest problems I have with White Lies and Editors especially is that they don't sound like they mean it. They haven't got their own identity. They just sound like copycats. However New York's finest Interpol do the gloom rock thing much better and have got their own sound. In a way they've brought the gloom rock sound up to date.

To sum it up then To Lose My Life is a fairly average debut album. Obviously a lot of people believed the hype because it shot straight to the top of the album charts but it's far from a classic.

Summary: Debut long player from "the hottest new band in England" doesn't quite cut the mustard.