White Lies — FIVE (Feb. 1, 2019)

                              White Lies — FIVE (Feb. 1, 2019)
•♣•    The songs focus on the personal, with principal songwriter and bassist Charles Cave claiming he’s far more interested in “the human condition” than making grand proclamations about the wider world. Over their career it’s made an interesting juxtaposition to the trio’s expansive sonic palette. (Dillon Eastoe)
Location: Ealing, London, UK
Album release: Feb. 1, 2019
Record Label: PIAS
Duration:     42:04
Tracks:
01. Time to Give   7:35
02. Never Alone   3:33
03. Finish Line   4:45
04. Kick Me   5:32
05. Tokyo   4:52
06. Jo?   3:07
07. Denial   4:25
08. Believe It   3:30
09. Fire and Wings   4:45
Producer: Ed Buller, Flood
Band members:
★   Harry McVeigh — lead vocals, guitar (2007~present)
★   Charles Cave — bass guitar, backing vocals, lyrics (2007~present)
★   Jack Lawrence~Brown — drums (2007~present)
Charts:
■  Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)   #30
■  Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)   #9
■  Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)   #89
■  Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)   #12
■  German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)   #18
■  Scottish Albums (OCC)   #11
■  US Independent Albums (Billboard)   #18
Notes:
■♠★  Edmund Wilbur Hudson „Ed“ Buller (born 9 August 1962 in Reigate, Surrey) is an English record producer and former musician. He has primarily worked with English bands including Suede, Pulp, The Raincoats and The Courteeners.
Awards and nominations:
Awards:
♠  2013 Best Album Artwork: Big TV
♠  2009 MOJO Honours Lists: MOJO Breakthrough Award
♠  2009 Q Awards: Best New Band
Nominations:
♠  2009 NME Awards: Best New Band
♠  2009 MTV Europe Music Awards: Best Push Artist
Review
By Luke Pearson, Published Jan 30, 2019. Score: 8
♠★■  London, UK post~punk trio White Lies likely felt some pressure during the lead~up to the release of Five, their aptly titled fifth album. The excellent Big TV in 2013 saw the band expand their sound and scope to great effect, leading to what seemed like their best work to date, an achievement its followup, 2016’s slightly underwhelming Friends, failed to replicate, leaning more heavily (although by no means inexpertly) into mainstream pop song~craft instead.
♠★■  Thankfully Five mixes these two impulses well, featuring some of the group’s catchiest work to date while still offering more challenging elements that reveal themselves over time.
♠★■  That said, opening track „Time to Give“ starts things off with a bit of a stumble, bloating its runtime to seven~and~a~half minutes via an extended vamp session that does not pay off. Most listeners will likely prefer to start the album with „Never Alone,“ a perfect example of the kind of soaringly melancholic sound the band have been distilling from their goth and new wave influences for the last decade. „Finish Line“ continues to impress, with a three~part structure that gently plays with listener expectations in just the right way, and features an unexpected bridge full of what sounds like duelling xylophone and marimba — whatever’s going on, it works.
♠★■  The irresistibly rousing „Tokyo“ is the track most will be talking about, however, its dazzling synths easily making it the sunniest tune the band have ever cut (press material suggests legendary producer and synth~master Flood lent out some of his collection for the album). Lyricist Charles Cave remains as gloomy as ever though, detailing the frailties and failures of human relationships with his usual poeticism, describing someone as „the driftwood of love“ at one point.
♠★■  It all amounts to a strong album, one that should appeal to both modern, Editors~loving synth~rock fans, as well as older New Order, Joy Division and Cure heads who remember from whence it all came. ♠★■  https://exclaim.ca/
Website: https://www.whitelies.com/five
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whiteliesmusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteLies/
Label: https://www.pias.com/
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White Lies — FIVE (Feb. 1, 2019)

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