White_Lies-To_Lose_My_Life-2009-DV8
Artist: White Lies
Title: To Lose My Life...
Label: Polydor
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 202kbit av.
Time: 00:45:00
Size: 68.71 mb
Rip Date: 2009-01-15
Str Date: 2009-01-19
Track List1. Death 5:01
2. To Lose My Life 3:11
3. A Place To Hide 5:02
4. Fifty On Our Foreheads 4:21
5. Unfinished Business 4:20
6. E.S.T. 5:03
7. From The Stars 4:53
8. Farewell To The Fairground 4:19
9. Nothing To Give 4:12
10. The Price Of Love 4:38
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Release Notes:On a certain indie music site recently there was a thread about White Lies, and a comment in this thread ran "Joy Division > Interpol > Editors > White Lies". Now despite containing remnants of the truth and being correct on a purely qualitative basis, this was slightly unfair and more than a little misguided. This post implied that White Lies are the last in line for the scraping of the the baritone barrel of Curtis and co, but, aside from some obvious steals, the end result points in sleeker, poppier direction.
If only someone had told frontman Harry McVeigh. McVeigh's voice and presence totally dominate 'To Lose My Life', but his vocals are closer to Julian Cope or Ian McCulloch rather than Ian Curtis. No problems there then, instead it is bassist Charles Cave's facile death obsessed lyrics that provide a sticking point to enjoyment and ultimately provide ammunition to those wishing to paint the band as lazy Joy Division pastichists. At times this works; "everything has got to be love or death" on 'Death' could pretty much some up the whole record in a line but at other times the effect is more like 6th form poetry: "There's a part of me that still believes that my soul will soar above the trees."
Almost every song features a mention of death, graveyards or funerals and, for a man seemingly obsessed with meeting his maker, McVeigh's vocals sound fairly calm throughout - 'A Place To Hide' being a prominent case in point. Not to wish death on anyone of course but such faux-doom mongering has no depth and he may as well be singing about a slightly concerning mess in the living room rather than the end of his days. There are also a wealth of Editors-lite lyrics: "fate always loses hope/ like electric sparks in my heart".
Musically 'To Lose My Life' is more indebted to 'Hot Fuss' than 'Unknown Pleasures'; the record is extremely sleek and has the polish you'd expect from such a high profile major label debut. They certainly shouldn't need to re-release 'Death' or 'Unfinished Business' as the album is brimming with potential singles. The production is also huge - every guitar line and shimmer of synth glistens while the rhythm section is suitably powerful, although there doesn't seem to be much evidence of personality or individual style in the playing.
Early single 'Unfinished Business' sees White Lies at their best, merging more subtle dark overtones with a solid pop sensibility, and incorporating a simplicity in the lyrics that manages to avoid the clumsiness of some of the rhyming couplets on the album, packing in a very indie-disco friendly chorus as McVeigh yearns for a chance to "dance like we used to".
'From The Stars' is a tale of a disconnected star returning to his home town for (you guessed it) a funeral. The star is at first obnoxious and emotionless but as the memories comes flooding back he realises his happiness is only on the surface. It sounds cheesy, it is cheesy and somewhat obvious but it works thanks to some big pop hooks and, once again, that fantastic production. It's indicative of the whole record in fact - it seems fairly contrived throughout but given a few listens and you'll be singing along to nearly every track. In a way everything about White Lies is reminiscent of The Killers covering 'Shadowplay', a similar production ethic and the effect of a band wanting to play with the big issues, but obviously more at home with a dash of 80s influences and some big tunes.
Despite these criticisms the whole of 'To Lose My Life' is undeniably catchy, pretty well executed and listenable - provided you're not listening too hard - and will probably do really well. After all, those Killers and Editors fans will need something to move on to, and with the recession kicking in they’re bound to want a darker listen. Although the question of where they will buy the record still remains...
От себя: еще одни последователи/клоны/приемники/почитатели/ривайвл-постпанки как правильно подметили в релиз ноутс Joy Division > Interpol > Editors. Альбом средний - есть треки просто отличные, а есть никакие-проходные. Имеется также пара синглов и 3 видеоклипа с MTV2. Если необходимо, оформлю.
http://harrisson.livejournal.com/478468.html
