MP3: “Leny (ADAT rmx)” by Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles gave an early Christmas present to fans yesterday by posting a remix of the previously released “Leni,” a remix of a GoodBooks song by the same name. If you listen closely you can hear a sample of the last verse of The Knife’s “We Share Our Mother’s Health.” You can stream and download “Leny (ADAT rmx)” by Crystal Castles (click down arrow for download) below:
Crystal Castles – Leny (ADAT rmx) by Crystal Castles
MP3: “Not In Love feat. Robert Smith (Sane Smith Remix)” by Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles’ staggering sophomore effort wound up #3 on our list of favorite albums of 2010, and they provide us with a gift for those of our secular friends celebrating Festivus today with a remix of a remix off that album. We usually don’t post many remixes, but this one’s definitely worthy. And it’s f**king Crystal Castles! You can download “Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith/Sane Smith Remix)” by Crystal Castles here or stream it below:
The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2010
We’re wondering if the end-of-the-year list makers have actually listened to Sufjan’s Steven’s The Age of Adz more than once (or even at all). It’s truly and unquestionably our favorite release for 2010. While we enjoyed some of the popular choices (This Is Happening, Halcyon Digest, The Suburbs, etc.) just as much as the next guy, there were some less popular albums that we really appreciated over the past 12 months (Down There, DISCO2, Shame, Shame). And is there any reason why a soundtrack cannot get some love? Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross may be the reason why The Social Network wins a Best Picture Oscar this year! Here are our favorite 20 albums of a tremendous year for music:
1. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
2. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
3. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
4. Caribou – Swim
5. The National – High Violet
6. Avey Tare – Down There
7. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
8. Owen Pallett – Heartland
9. HEALTH – DISCO2
10. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
11. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
12. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network
13. Jonsi – Go
14. Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
15. Girl Talk – All Day
16. Vampire Weekend – Contra
17. The Magnetic Fields – Realism
18. Holy Fuck – Latin
19. The Walkmen – Lisbon
20. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Honorable Mention:
Seven Fields of Aphelion – Periphery
Most Disappointing Albums of 2010:
Elf Power – Elf Power
MGMT – Congratulations
Of Montreal – False Priest
Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2010
2010 started off strong, producing some of our favorite tracks off the summer playlist. As the weather heated up, things fell into a summer doldrum. Now, as we develop our end-of-the-year lists, we’re finding the year coming to a conspicuous end. Similar to 2009, the list is somewhat album-heavy, as we were drawn to several stand-out records among our favorite artists. Here is our very biased list of our 50 favorite tracks from 2010 (give the page a minute to load the SoundClouds):
1. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
2. Caribou – “Odessa”
3. Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
4. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
5. HEALTH – “USA Boys”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “I Can Change”
7. Crystal Castles – “Empathy”
8. Avey Tare – “Laughing Hieroglyphic”
9. Broken Social Scene – ‘World Sick”
10. Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”
11. The National – “Afraid of Everyone”
12. Autolux – “Transit, Transit”
13. Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Soul”
14. Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi”
15. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
16. Sufjan Stevens – “Vesuvius”
17. Caribou – “Jamelia”
18. Crystal Castles – “Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)”
19. Beach House – “Norway”
20. Arcade Fire – “We Used To Wait”
21. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
22. Yeasayer – “Mondegreen”
23. Deerhunter – “He Would Have Laughed”
24. Owen Pallett – “Midnight Directives”
25. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
26. Crystal Castles – “Vietnam”
27. How To Destroy Angels – “Fur-Lined”
28. The National – “Terrible Love”
29. Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
30. White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”
31. Panda Bear – “Slow Motion”
32. Avey Tare – “Lucky 1″
33. Liars – “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant”
34. Dr. Dog – “Jackie Wants A Black Eye”
35. Ratatat – “Party With Children”
36. Tobacco – “Lamborghini Meltdown”
37. The Walkmen – “Angela Surf City”
38. Middle Class Rut – “New Low”
39. HEALTH – “Before Tigers (Gold Panda Remix)”
40. Four Tet – “Plastic People”
41. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Bright Lit Blue Skies”
42. Jonsi – “Tornado”
43. Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
44. Yeasayer – “ONE”
45. Of Montreal – “Like a Tourist”
46. Matthew Dear – “You Put a Smell On Me”
47. Delta Spirit – “Bushwick Blues”
48. Avey Tare – “Oliver Twist”
49. MGMT – “Flash Delirium”
50. Flying Lotus – “…And The World Laughs With You (Ft. Thom Yorke)”
MP3: “Not In Love (ft. Robert Smith)” by Crystal Castles
October 26, 2010 by Mark
Filed under Electronic, MP3s, Upcoming Releases
Everyone in the blogosphere is buzzing about a new collaboration between Crystal Castles and The Cure’s Robert Smith. As good as the track sounds in theory, it’s even better realized. Crystal Castles will release the single next month, December 6th, with B-sides containing acoustic demos of ‘Celestica’ and ‘Suffocation.’ You can download “Not In Love (ft. Robert Smith)” by Crystal Castles here or stream it below:
Album Review: Crystal Castles (II)
For those expecting the new Crystal Castles record to approach or surpass their debut effort, you can stop reading this now. LCD Soundsystem’s astonishing This Is Happening improved upon Sound of Silver, which appeared on every credible “best of the decade” list. However, that polarizing Crystal Castles’ debut was more complete than the top-heavy Sound of Silver. Those few who called it inconsistent are the same hipsters clamoring over the one trick pony that is Sleigh Bells. The hope was that Ethan Kath and Alice Glass may be capable of delivering another neurosis-inducing tour de force. What we get with the sophomore release is a more than capable follow-up; it just doesn’t approach the summit that the band previously inhabited.
Although there are plenty of stand-outs, I don’t get the point of all the synthetic distortion. It almost sounds like Steve Albini (Nirvana’s In Utero and Failure’s Magnified) produced these fuzzy lo-fi sounding tracks. What happen to the pristine production of “Air Wars” and “Crimewave”? Luckily, that static is limited to just a few songs, including album opener “Fainting Spells” and the almost inaudible minute and a half long first single “Doe Deer.” The effect is used transitionally in the Sigur Ros-sampling “Year of Silence.” The foundation of the track has loads of promise but falls a bit short of previous sample-heavy tracks (probably an unfair comparison to the HEALTH remix “Crimewave”).
Although Crystal Castles may have set the bar too high on their previous release, the album is certainly one of the best of 2010. One area in which the band has grown is with the vocal manipulation of Glass’ voice. She actually sings on this record, which makes some of the tracks more accessible than previous releases (see album standout “Pap Smear”). Kath puts Glass’ vocals through various filters on most of the record. The most extreme vocal manipulation is on “Vietnam,” another standout that would have fit seamlessly on the first album. The comparisons to Karin Dreijer Andersson are completely ridiculous, although Glass’ voice transcends gender on “Empathy,” my favorite song on the record. Kath selfishly turns down Glass way down in the mix much too often.
Although Crystal Castles seem content using old formulas, they do explore new ground on tracks like “Birds.” I wonder if Kath broke out his guitar for the first time since his days in a GG Allin cover band. At least he’s not the former guitarist from Poison The Well. The new sound is welcomed, and I hope he continues to experiment with it. The album was previously scheduled for a June 8th North American release. That date was pushed up to April 23 when the album was leaked.
http://www.myspace.com/crystalcastles
MP3s: “Doe Deer” and “Celestica” by Crystal Castles
I’m not sure there was an album I played more in 2008 than Crystal Castles’ self-titled debut. That album was one of the catalysts for even starting Fishpork and featured some of the filthiest synth hooks ever put to tape by a Roland SH-101. Their second self-titled album is due in June and is my most anticipated release this year. It looks like the web police took down all the album rips of “Doe Deer.” However, it doesn’t sound much different than the warped radio rip. Download “Doe Deer” and “Celestica” or stream them below:
“Doe Deer”
“Celestica”
Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s
This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.
1. Panda Bear – “Bros” (2007)
2. The Knife – “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)
3. Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green” (2007)
4. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)
5. The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2003)
6. Grizzly Bear – “The Knife” (2005)
7. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great” (2007)
8. TV on the Radio – “Staring at the Sun” (2003)
9. Crystal Castles – “Crimewave” (2008)
10. Beirut – “Ciloqut” (2007)
11. Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill
12. Animal Collective – “Derek” (2007)
13. Nine Inch Nails – “Me, I’m Not” (2007)
14. Beck – “Lonesome Tears” (2002)
15. At The Drive-in – “One Armed Scissor” (2004)
16. Animal Collective – “Grass” (2005)
17. Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)
18. Atlas Sound – “Recent Bedroom” (2008)
19. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)
20. System of a Down – “Chop Suey” (2001)
21. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” (2007)
22. Battles – “Atlas” (2007)
23. Error – “Jack the Ripper” (2004)
24. Enon – “Pleasure and the Privilege”
25. Elliott Smith – “Son of Sam” (2000)
26. Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words” (2005)
27. The Knife – “Marble House” (2006)
28. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)
29. Thom Yorke – “Analyse” (2006)
30. The Flaming Lips – “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)
31. Girl Talk – “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle – “Judith” (2000)
33. Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)
34. Tapes N’ Tapes – “Manitoba” (2006)
35. TV On The Radio – “I Was A Lover” (2006)
36. Radiohead – “Reckoner” (2007)
37. Fever Ray – “Coconut” (2009)
38. Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)
39. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart” (2009)
40. Wilco – “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)
41. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)
42. Animal Collective – “Leaf House” (2004)
43. Modeselektor – “Happy Birthday” (2007)
44. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (2004)
45. Autolux – “Blanket” (2004)
46. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (2007)
47. Built to Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)
48. Wilco – “Side With the Seeds” (2007)
49. Elliott Smith – “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)
50. Avey Tare – “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)
51. Department of Eagles – “Waves of Rye” (2008)
52. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes” (2009)
53. Radiohead – “2+2 = 5″ (2003)
54. Dredg – “Sang Real” (2005)
55. While Lies – “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)
56. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” (2009)
57. Matisyahu – “King Without a Crown” (2005)
58. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)
59. Dillinger Escape Plan – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)
60. Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (2004)
61. Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey” (2007)
62. Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen” (2007)
63. LCD Soundsystem – “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)
64. The Notwist – “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)
65. Liars – “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)
66. The Mars Volta – “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)
67. The Notwist – “Solitaire” (2002)
68. Of Montreal – “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)
69. Queens of the Stone Age – “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)
70. Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)
71. Saul Williams – “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)
72. Autolux – “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)
73. Sigur Ros – “Untitled 8″ (2002)
74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)
75. Portishead – “Threads” (2008)
76. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” (2005)
77. Ugly Casanova – “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)
78. Animal Collective – “Brothersport” (2009)
79. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song” (2001)
80. Nine Inch Nails – “Only” (2005)
81. El-P – “Flyentology” (2007)
82. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)
83. Ghostface Killah – “Shakey Dog” (2006)
84. Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (2007)
85. UNKLE – “Persons and Machinery” (2007)
86. Amon Tobin – “Verbal” (2002)
87. The White Stripes – “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk – “Captain Midnight” (2003)
89. Modest Mouse – “Bukowski” (2004)
90. Sigur Ros – “Hoppipolia” (2005)
92. Fuck Buttons – “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)
93. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love” (2008)
94. Built to Spill – “In Your Mind” (2001)
95. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (2007)
96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars” (2008)
97. Dub Trio – “Not Alone” (2006)
98. Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”
99. The Walkmen – “In the New Year” (2008)
100. Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)
White Lies: Everything’s Got To Be Love Or Death
April 7, 2009 by Mark
Filed under Interviews
White Lies may be one of the most hyped British bands in recent memory, and their highly anticipated debut, To Lose My Life, has reached #1 on the U.K. charts. The band is just now making their way to the U.S. for a full proper tour, featuring a collection of emotionally-charged songs that are best served live. Other bands have taken notice, and the White Lies have become a target of countless remixes. Most recently, Crystal Castles put their electro-spazz touch on the album’s opening track, “Death.” We recently caught one of their shows in Philly and became instantly enamored with front man Harry McVeigh. Filter Magazine was able to hook us up with an opportunity to speak to Harry (just hours before his Seattle gig) about his band’s penetration into the American market, the passion in his performances, and some of his favorite bands at the moment.
Fishpork: We were at your Philly show and were really blown away. How do you think the fans over here are responding to White Lies?
Harry McVeigh: It’s been very good, actually. It’s actually been a lot better than we expected it to be. A lot of these shows have started to sell out now, especially towards the end of the tour as interest starts to build. We’ve been playing some good shows, and people have been responding to it really well. Much better than expected I think, and we’ve been really pleased with it.
Fishpork: How is your voice feeling since that show?
HM: It’s much better now. Thanks very much for asking. Yeah, I was out for about five, six days, but I had to do all the shows, and I got through it. It was a struggle. It was definitely a struggle.
Fishpork: Do you find the U.S tour to be more of a challenge since most of your success has been in the U.K.?
HM: No, we had the same challenge in the U.K. about six months ago when we first started touring with the band properly. You know, it’s the same in any country. When you’re starting out, it’s gonna be a little bit harder, because no one’s heard your music, and no one’s had the chance to come see you play live yet. And that’s how interest is generated, and that’s how bands start out. It is a challenge, and it’s really good fun for us, and I’m really enjoying being on this tour. It takes us back to the time when we started. And I know it’s only six months ago. That’s the time we started in the U.K., our own headline tour or whatever. It’s really good fun to play these size venues, to play to people who haven’t really heard your music before and to try to win them over. It’s great fun. I’ve really enjoyed. I suppose the only challenging thing about touring in the U.S. is the distance between each show. And that’s obviously the big difference between the U.S. and England. Every night, we’re probably driving for eight/nine hours to get to places. And, in fact, I decided to fly, because I have my girlfriend out here in Seattle. I drove from Minneapolis to Seattle, which is a very, very long drive. Yeah, it’s cool. It’s really fun.
And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think.
Fishpork: Some of the songs on your album have been out for a while. Do you get tired of playing the same songs every night? How do you keep your live shows fresh?
HM: No, you’d have to be playing the songs for a long, long time for them to get boring. There’s always the excitement and the nerves when you’re playing live, that it might just go wrong at any moment. And you have to always be concentrating really hard and be really focused when you’re on stage to deliver the best performance. And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think. If anyone’s seen us this time around on the tour . . . the next time we tour the U.S., hopefully, it’ll be even better. So, it never gets boring. It’s always fun to expand on songs and to get the most out of them in every show.
Fishpork: You seem to put so much energy and emotion into your performances. How are you able to keep your sanity from night to night?
HM: You know, it’s exactly that. During the performance we’re obviously very focused, and we want to deliver the power and emotion of the song. And it’s actually hard not to deliver that power and emotion. They’re very emotionally charged songs and lyrics. It sounds like a cheesy thing to say, but it’s quite therapeutic to sing about things like that and to get that emotion off your chest. For the rest of the time, we’re pretty grounded, normal people. We enjoy the same things that everyone else does. And we enjoy them in the same way. For the show, we’re definitely very focused, but we try to leave that emotion in the show and during the show. Otherwise, we would go insane.
Fishpork: What’s been your favorite stop on the U.S. tour?
HM: I’ve enjoyed a lot of places to be honest. I’ve just spent a couple of days here in Seattle, and I really loved the city, first time here. Everywhere is different. New York and Chicago, the big cities, are great to visit. They’re really amazing places to see. And we always have a good time in the big cities. But there’s some wonderful small places we’ve visited as well. Ann Arbor, the show we did just before Chicago, which is obviously a very small university town. It was great fun, and it was a good show and a really beautiful city as well.
You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket.
Fishpork: We’ve noticed a lot of festival stops on your tour. How do you compare the festival experience to more intimate shows?
HM: Of course, we’re playing Coachella in a couple weeks. Amazing, we’re really looking forward to that. The festival experience is totally different, not only for the people playing but also for the people watching it. A festival performance is a very immediate thing. You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket. And we work very hard, as I mentioned before, on our live show. It’s going to be interesting. And we might have a few shows that are not quite so good, and we might have a few amazing shows at festivals. And that’s the genius of it. You never quite know what’s going to happen, and I love that. At the smaller clubs shows you get a long sound check, and you get to make sure everything’s working. And that’s still really good fun and really great. And, also, you get to use your light show and whatever. It’s not quite as immediate and spontaneous as the festival shows.
Fishpork: What is the songwriting process like for you guys?
HM: It’s almost entirely a democracy in the band. Usually it’ll start with . . . maybe Charles will maybe write some lyrics. And me and Charles will probably sit in my house with the keyboard in my living room, and we’ll start to work out the basics of a song, like the the basic chord structures and melody lines. And then we’ll go into the rehearsal studio, and we’ll work with Jack. It’s only usually a couple of days where we’re working on the very basics of a song, me and Charles. For the rest of the time, me, Jack and Charles will be in the rehearsal studio working long hours to get the song into shape, and it’s the same right way until we finish recording it, and then we have to relearn how to play it live. It’s very much a democracy between the whole band.
Fishpork: Who are some of your American music influences?
HM: Most of our musical influence comes from America actually. It’s very strange. We don’t listen to a huge amount of British music. And I don’t know what the reason for that is. We love the Secret Machines’ first record, I think is our favorite record as a band. That would be in all of our top three records of all-time. We love a band called School of Seven Bells, which is obviously the Secret Machines’ guitarist. They’re amazing. They’re actually coming out to play with us in the U.K. actually in May. And also a band from New York called Violence, a very new band that we’ve fallen in love with. They’re amazing. It’s strange, especially in modern music. We certainly listen to a lot more American bands than U.K. bands.
Fishpork: The visual component to White Lies is quite cinematic. Where does that interest in the visual come from? How do you guys come up with the music video concepts?
HM: The main visionary behind those videos is actually the director, Andreas Nilsson. And the reason we started working with him was because he did the treatment for our first music video, which was “Death.” And it was amazing. It fit so well with the band’s ethos, and what the band is about and, also, what the song is about. And so we chose his treatment and made a video with him. It was so good that we decided to make two more videos with him. He’s just a fantastic director and great visionary. We have a lot of trust in him to make really amazing videos. So that’s why we did a trilogy of videos with him. I’m not sure if you guys have seen the most recent one. It’s on our MySpace. It’s for the single that’s coming out in the U.K., “Farewell to the Fairground.” We shot it in Russia, which was amazing.
I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing.
Fishpork: Crystal Castles is one of our favorite bands. How did you like their remix of Death?
HM: I love it. I love Crystal Castles as well. I think they’re album is incredible. And I’m so, so excited about their second record. We were sort of introduced to Crystal Castles when we were touring with them in 2008 on a tour called NME New Noise Tour in the U.K. And they obviously heard us playing Death on pretty much every night of the tour, and they fell in love with the song. And so they decided to do a remix of it. I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing. Since then, they’ve actually started working with the same management as us, and we get along with them very well as people. They’re really lovely people. We often see them on the festival circuit, and often around London, and also we were in Toronto recently, we saw them out there. We get along with Crystal Castles very well. They’re great people.
Fishpork: What other bands are you guys listening to right now?
HM: Let me think. There’s a band called M83 who just did a remix of one of our songs called “Nothing To Give.” Also, I’ve just bought their album, and I’ve fallen in love with it. I think it’s fantastic. Really great record.
Fishpork: What’s coming up in 2009 for White Lies?
HM: Pretty much touring. We’re touring around the whole world and around the U.K. and Europe a lot. And we’re playing festivals all over the world for the rest of the summer. And it’s going to be great. We’re really, really excited about it. And we hope to see as many people as possible at all the festivals around the world. It’s going to be great.
White Lies has also been hard at work with music video extraordinaire, Andreas Nilsson, who is best known for his work with the Swedish electronic duo, The Knife. So far, Nilsson has worked with White Lies on a trilogy of music videos that capture the visual aesthetic of To Lose Your Life. Embedded below are his videos for “Death,” To Lose My Life,” and “Farewell To The Fairground.”
Album Review: To Lose My Life
The comparisons to Joy Division/New Order and others will be expected. White Lies do their best post-punk impersonation on their debut album To Lose My Life. Bass player Charles Cave lists Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and Talking Heads as influences. Unlike those bands, there is not much new ground explored here. That’s not a cheap shot, as White Lies are obviously very good at their craft. The band, which recently changed its name from Fear of Flying, debuted the same album at #1 on the UK Album Charts a few months ago, leading to much buzz over the US release last week. I’ve read nothing but good things about their live shows and look forwad to seeing them on Wednesday in Philly.
Standout track “Death” has already been released as part of the Death EP months ago and features a brilliant remix by Crystal Castles. The track proves that White Lies has incorporated original elements to their formulaic sound. The melodic synths/keyboards and off-tempo percussion will definitely have the arenas dancing in the aisles before long. White Lies have been deemed the next big thing, and I can understand why. They remind me of a less adventurous version of Muse. Then again, they haven’t been around nearly as long. Some of the songs seem like they are about to take risks but end up taking the safe route, not offering much of a challenge to the mainstream audience that will be expecting this. Title track, “To Lose My Life,” is complimented by a very engaging video but ultimately fails to get me overly excited about something I feel like I’ve heard too many times before. The funny thing is that there is not one song that I would label filler on the album. It’s an album filled with good songs. Current single, “Farewell to the Fairground,” is a catchy track and maybe the strongest on the album. I had to double-check to see if I was listening to Depeche Mode this time. Overall, the album is somewhat of a success but very straightforward. Maybe I’ve been listening to too much Grizzly Bear this week. I will continue to follow White Lies and hope they decide to be more daring the next time out.