★★★★☆
On their fourth albumFriends, the enigmatic trio from England known as White Lies wrote and recorded without the backing of a label.
Instead of seeing this as an imposition, they took it as a great boon and recorded without deadlines, budget or the need for record company approval. The result of this experiment is a polished album filled with highlights, one that proves well worth the wait.
From album opener ‘Take It Out On Me’, White Lies hit their stride and never look back, their melancholic but oddly uplifting sound in full flight from the outset. ‘Summer Didn’t Change A Thing’ is a tune custom-made to be belted out inside a sold-out venue, with an amazingly soaring chorus flying over solid instrumentation.
Lyrically, almost every song dwells on the topic of the pain of lost love and tracks like ‘Don’t Want To Feel It All’ and ‘Is My Love Enough?’ tackle the issue head on. The only knock on the album is that the big vocal build-up is a touch overused, but it’s a minor gripe as it’s only noticeable if you listen to the album front to back.
Overall this is a fantastic record. If White Lies’ new label is paying attention, it won’t give the group a deadline at all for their next album. If the group’s freedom means more albums like this, then that’s surely what’s best for business.
Friends byWhite Liesis out now via Liberator Music/Infectious Music.
