BIG TV

White Lies' third studio album, 2013's Big TV, finds the band building upon the darkly anthemic sound of their first two albums with an added songwriting maturity. After touring almost non-stop in support of 2009's To Lose My Life and 2011's Ritual, White Lies took almost a two-year break to recoup and rethink their direction before heading back into the studio to record Big TV. The time off seems to have worked, as the trio of lead singer/guitarist Harry McVeigh, bassist Charles Cave, and drummer Jack Brown, along with producer Ed Buller -- who also co-produced the band’s debut -- have crafted a handful of highly literate, single-worthy tracks that still evince their love of moody, '80s post-punk. Admittedly, the album sprawls to some degree; there are two instrumental interludes. It's as if, after taking a break, White Lies felt compelled to try and get all of their pent-up ideas out onto the table. Thankfully, many of their ideas work. In many ways, Big TV has all of the characteristics White Lies fans have come to expect from them including driving post-punk beats, evocative guitar lines, chilly synth parts, and McVeigh's prophetic baritone croon. Impossibly, they sound even more engaged and clear-eyed than on the ambitious, stylized Ritual. With that album, White Lies seemed to put a song's overall production sound ahead of the song. The opposite is true with Big TV, and songs like the title track and the poignant ballad "Change" are deeply moving, emotionally resonant songs that still retain all of White Lies' penchant for arid, '70s sci-fi movie-inspired atmosphere. Also engaging are several euphoria-inducing tracks like sparkling lead single "There Goes Our Love Again" and the sweepingly romantic, orchestral synthesizer-tinged "First Time Caller." Elsewhere, White Lies dive headlong into the deep sea electro-disco of the Giorgio Moroder-inspired "Get Even," and lift our hearts cloud-ward with the pulsing Echo and the Bunnymen-esque dance-rocker "Be Your Man." Ultimately, with Big TV, White Lies combine the urgent passions of their debut with the conceptual ambitions of their sophomore effort for an engaging, far-reaching epic. ~ Matt Collar

全英1位を記録したデビューから止まることなく走り続けてきた彼らが初めて長期休暇を取り、そしてふたたび最前線へ! 〈いままででいちばんシンプルな作品に〉という目標を掲げたこの3作目は、初作ぶりにエド・ブラーと合体!アレンジに凝るよりもメロディーを真っ直ぐ届けることに集中し、果たして力強いギター・ロック盤が誕生した。〈制作にあたってスプリングスティーンの影響を受けた〉なんてメンバーの発言も納得!
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