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