White Lies review

OMG, how long has it been. A few years. Not that any of you were looking at this site back then. I'm hoping to create a small cult following though. If you want, place the link in your bookmarks and add a quick tab in your browser, cuz I'm back!!!

I promise to update this much more often. I'm going to try and cover everything from local bands in the Rochelle/Rockford/Dekalb area as well as many major and upcoming artists. I won't make any promises for now, but I will make the updates on a regular basis.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the latest review.

White Lies

One of the newest bands I've come across has been White Lies, a band from London, England. They're described as a post-punk/indie band. The very first thing I thought of when I heard the single "Death" was the band The Killers. After looking at their wiki page, I guess I wasn't the only one. Everyone else seems to have thought so too. And they were compared to a few other Brit bands I wasn't aware of, but will be sure to check out. I kind of like this genre of English indie/punk. I've never been huge on The Killers, but always respected what the brought to the table. I think I enjoy most of their singles for the first month or two and then they get old fast. I'm not quite as worried about that with White Lies. I'm not in love with everything they've recorded, but "Death" is fantastic.

Paul Lester of the Guardian says to file them next to Tears for Fears. The only reason I can agree to this is because maybe they will receive the same popularity, but I can't really compare the two types of music. Maybe I'm missing something.

The music video on their Myspace Web site is awesome too. It combines a bit of still imagery with a camera panning, creating a very cool eeriness uring the video.

Video production aside, the lyrics are pretty sweet too:

"i close my eyes as my hands shake and when i see a new day who’s driving this anyway i picture my own grave cause fears got a hold on me"

I just love something about those lyrics. Excellent transition from chorus, reprise and verse too. Love how the song crescendos. I do wish the ending didn't fade to black, but it's not the worst thing in the world.

I think "Death" received a lot more production value than "Unfinished Business" their only other single. I'll be honest Harry McVeigh isn't the greatest singer. "Unfinished Business" really shows that.

I'm anticipating buying the full album, "To Loose My Life Or Loose My Love." They're going to be in the U.S. for a few dates, so I'm hoping to catch them in Chicago on Oct. 28 at the Empty Bottle if I'm available.

One last note, I like the fan following they have. Seems to be a fairly intelligent lot. (That's Brit for group of people). I really think a lot is said about the kind of people who follow the band and comment on their sites as can be seen from one of my previous posts. It looks like most people are in their upper teens or early 20s. A great basis for a long following. It shows they're not too pop and hopefully won't fade into oblivion when someone newer comes on the scene.

All in all, I give them a 7.5 out of 11. Why does my scale go to 11? For when you need that little bit extra, you just go crank it to 11. I know what you might be saying out there, why don't you just make 10 a little louder.....well this one goes to 11!!!