White Lies - Ritual
The second record from alt-rock band White Lies makes a promising start with the bold, stadium-sized first track ‘Is Love’; introducing their new electronic sound with real elegance. However, the slope points downwards.
The album is listenable, but by no means groundbreaking. It seems the record has been rushed; jumping through commercial hoops to produce something on demand that will satisfy the average Radio 1 listener for a couple of weeks.
The White Lies’ trademark anthematic choruses following a brooding build-up are present in every track, certainly a clever formula for retaining fans of their first record. However, in listening to the album I can’t help but feel cheated after the hollow promises in an interview for NME, that the band were wanting to ‘try new things and explore new sounds’ – sure, they threw a few synths and electro harps into the mix but rather than creating something exciting, the band have clung to the same structures but lost the endearing innocence of their simplistic debut.
With lyrics straining for profound insights into human emotions, the band fall short, whining on absurdly in ‘Holy Ghost’: ‘You were writhing on the floor like a moth in molasses.’ Care to interpret, anyone? I can’t help but wonder why something this terrible slipped through the net with successful rock producer Alan Moulder by their side.
The increased use of electronic elements, particularly on ‘Street Lights’, at least remove the band from the undeserved comparison to Joy Division, but the effort still sounds like a failed attempt at a Gary Numan rip-off.
There are tracks here that provide a pleasant enough listen, ‘Bigger Than Us’ and ‘Bad Love’ being highlights. Yet overall the album is forgettable, failing to make an impression due to its predictability. The dark subject matter just seems too hard to believe coming from three middle-class lads who have recently enjoyed a number one debut album with ‘To Lose My Life’. If they didn’t take themselves too seriously, White Lies have the ability to create some great inspiring music, but this effort fails to make the grade.
Sophie McGraw
