Flowing in the same vein as fellow West Country rockers Muse and Thirteen Senses, WHITE LIES are the latest addition to the, already overflowing, adult-orientated-rock pool. With various big fish to compete with, such as the two afore-mentioned, Coldplay, Doves, Elbow and Starsailor, White Lies manage, to their credit (or not, I'll let you decide that one), to sound like all of them at some point or other throughout this six-track mini-album debut.
The six songs presented here are polished, well produced and expertly played, but, unfortunately, it's the lack of originality that ultimately lets them down. It's difficult not to spend the time listening to these songs playing the 'sounds-like' game.
Saying that though, it all starts very brightly indeed. Opener 'Numb' has a pulsing anthemic quality to it, driving, as it does, a wedge between Muse and Starsailor, while second track 'Actors In The Park' is a lovely piano-led rock number that's nothing startling, but well worth a second or third listen.
Things take a turn for the worse over the course of the next three tracks. 'Keep It Together' is just plain dull; 'Millionaire', which is probably the worst track here, is, at times, a pounding painful experience reminding the listener of a second-rate Keane. Can you imagine? A second-rate Keane? I didn't think such a thing was possible, but, yup, here it is.
|
'Goldrush' continues the trend of mediocrity. Fragile in parts, meatier in others, this is another attempt at the epic, climatic, grandiose sound we're all so used to by now. The band leave us though, with something to think about. The final track, 'Bringing Me Down', is a sprawling 9 minute opus, which makes up, in part, for the previous three tracks. Sounding half-way original, the band at last seem to be finding their own voice.
White Lies, then, seem to have the talent, and the songs, to make a splash in the over-crowded rock pool. Whether they stay afloat or not, will, primarily, be down to whether they can produce material as strong as 'Numb' and 'Bringing Me Down'. If they do, I'll be the first to shout: “Come on in, the water's lovely."
|
