White Lies (band) 

White Lies
White Lies playing at Reading Festival, 23 August 2008
White Lies playing at Reading Festival, 23 August 2008
Background information
Origin London, England
Genre(s) Indie
Post-Punk1
Years active 2007-present
Label(s) Fiction Records
Geffen
Chess Club
Website Official Website
Members
Harry McVeigh
Charles Cave
Jack Lawrence-Brown

White Lies (formerly known as Fear of Flying2) are an alternative post-punk indie band from Chiswick in West London, England. The band consists of Harry McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Lawrence-Brown. Their style has been compared to Editors,3 Arcade Fire,4 Joy Division,5 Interpol,6 The Killers,4 Echo & The Bunnymen,3 Tears For Fears7 and The Teardrop Explodes.8 Bassist Charles Cave's playing has been compared to that of Peter Hook,9 while lead singer McVeigh's singing voice has been compared to that of Ian Curtis,2 and as a cross between The Teardrop Explodes' Julian Cope and Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley.910

Contents

As Fear of Flying (2005-2008)

The band were formerly known as Fear of Flying,27 an indie pop band formed when all members were studying for A-Levels. Cave described the band as a "weekend project", which later evolved into having support slots with The Maccabees, Jamie T and Laura Marling.11 They released two double A-side vinyl singles on Young And Lost Club, "Routemaster/Round Three" on 7 August 2006 and "Three's a Crowd/Forget-Me-Nots" on 6 December 2006.12 They would go on to play the inaugural Underage Festival in Victoria Park, England on 10 August 2007.13 They cited Talking Heads as a major influence.14

In an interview in 2007 when asked about record labels, the band stated that "At the moment we would be happy [with offers] from anyone or anything to be honest. Seems there is no room for bands like us."15 Two weeks prior to the group starting university, they decided that they would take a second gap year, and perform new material which didn't suit their former band. Fear of Flying disbanded with a Myspace bulletin stating "Fear of Flying is DEAD ... White Lies is alive!",11 before introducing a darker sound16 and a new name. When asked about the name change in an interview with a radio station in San Francisco, Jack Brown stated that "We just thought that we should perform these songs as a different band. We had songs that we felt weren't suitable for the band that we were in and we thought White Lies would be the perfect vehicle for the songs."16 It was suggested by the band that something could have came out of the band if they had been signed, saying "If we get a record deal then an amazing album. If not then nothing apart from a few demos we give away for free when we have to quit."15

As White Lies (2008-present)

Playing under the new name, White Lies played their first gig at Hoxton Square's Bar & Kitchen on 27 February 2008.10 They made their television debut on Later... with Jools Holland on 30 May 2008 playing singles "Unfinished Business" and "Death".1718 During the summer of 2008, the band headlined BBC Introducing Stage at Radio 1's Big Weekend, in Maidstone, Kent on 11 May 2008.19 They would go on to play numerous UK and overseas music festivals, including major festivals Oxegen, T in the Park, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals.20 Their first headline tour visited 13 UK venues between September and October 2008.21

In October 2008, the band finished sessions for their debut album in Belgium and London,2223 which was provisionally titled "To Lose My Life Or To Lose My Love".24 A provisional release date was set for January 2009.7 During October 2008, the band scheduled a short United States tour, including an appearance at the CMJ Music Festival on 23-24 October alongside Jay Reatard, Amazing Baby and Violens.25 Following this, the band return to support Glasvegas on their fifteen date UK tour in November and December 2008.26 NME exclusively announced the official release through their website on 29 October 2008, stating that the album, with shortened title To Lose My Life, would be released on January 12. The band precede the album with the single release of the album's title track "To Lose My Life" one week earlier.23 The full-length video for "To Lose My Life" was posted exclusively on the band's MySpace.

Discography

Singles

EPs

Albums

References

  1. ^ "White Lies to Release EP". NeuFutur Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  2. ^ a b c "White Lies - Lies that don't need perfecting". Rob McCrae, new-noise.net. Retrieved on 2008-10-02.
  3. ^ a b "Review: White Lies, The Bodega Social". thisisnottingham.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-02.
  4. ^ a b "Review: White Lies @ Manchester Night And Day". Lee Sentino, FemaleFirst.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-23.
  5. ^ "Pop review: White Lies, ICA, London". Maddy Costa, The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  6. ^ "White Lies @ London ICA". Natasha Arico, Clash Music. Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
  7. ^ a b c "Bright future for White Lies". Thisislondon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  8. ^ "White Lies to release “Unfinished Business” + tour dates (NME New Noize Tour)". Band Weblogs.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-02.
  9. ^ a b "A&Rmchair: A Night in Hoxton". Ben Wardle, blogspot.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  10. ^ a b "No 290: White Lies". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  11. ^ a b "White Lies:Murder, madness and lots of black trousers". Chris Salmon, The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  12. ^ "YOUNG AND LOST CLUB - Shop - Records". Young and Lost Club. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  13. ^ "Underage Festival Lineup Expanded". itsthenewthing.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  14. ^ "BBC - London - Radio - Fear Of Flying". BBC. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  15. ^ a b "Q + A With Fear Of Flying". itsthenewthing.wordpress.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  16. ^ a b "SF Station:Jack Brown of White Lies". sfsstation.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-23.
  17. ^ "White Lies and Sweet Jane confirmed as special guests to Glasvegas". mcd.ie.
  18. ^ "White Lies - Unfinished Business / Death (Live On Jools Holland)". Angryape.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
  19. ^ "BBC - Radio 1's Big Weekend 2008 - Lineup". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  20. ^ "Polydor - White Lies". Polydor Records. Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
  21. ^ "White Lies announce follow-up to Topman NME New Noise Tour". NME.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-01.
  22. ^ BBC Radio 1 Introducing Show Interview with Huw Stephens, 14th August 2008.
  23. ^ a b "White Lies announce album details - exclusive". NME.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-30.
  24. ^ "White Lies preview debut album at Manchester show". NME.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  25. ^ "Filter Presents FREE White Lies Roxy Show". Filter Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
  26. ^ "White Lies Announce Tour". MTV One. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.

External links