The British Indie trio are back with their fourth album release; an album that has offers promise but never reach its full potential. ‘White Lies’ music has changed dramatically over the years. The bands first album ‘To Lose My Life’, released back in 2009, consisted of a group of dark yet powerful songs, with lyrics that focussed heavily on the heartache of dealing with death. Since then, ‘White Lies’ have progressed. Although the iconic synth-rock style still remains, their third album ‘Big TV’ took big steps in pointing the band in a slightly more upbeat and uplifting direction, and to great effect. The album was a big success for the band, and gave them a new image.
Since then, three years have passed, and fans have waited patiently for bands the next installment. Their new album, ‘Friends’, focuses on the relationships that the band members have experienced since the release of the previous album. ‘Friends’ builds on the bamds new style with a collection of songs that in parts are very engaging and enjoyable to listen to, but in others, are very forgettable. The album kicks off with ‘Take It Out On Me’, a song that really sets the bar high for the rest of the album to match. The song is centered around the disappointing reality of love, but, it still maintains the typical rousing, dramatic chorus that we see in the majority of ‘White Lies’ hits. Songs such as ‘Don’t Want To Feel It All’ and ‘Summer Didn’t Change A Thing’ optimise the bands new sound, with slow verses leading into big, uplifting, synthesised chorus’, which, overall, is very successful.
The main problem that I found with this album however is that there is a distinct lack of identity. Fans have waited three years for a new album since ‘Big TV’ and it just feels like there hasn’t been much progression in this time. A lot of the songs are quite similar to the previous album and it seems as if the band have almost been quite lazy in their song writing. ‘Right Place’ seems almost unfinished. The song has so much potential to be of the bands typical, big chorus’ that makes you want to listen to it again and again, but instead it is very characterless. The same can be said for ‘Come On’ and ‘Don’t Fall’. These songs just come across as poorly written and executed, and more of an afterthought than anything.
The overall feeling I have for this album is frustration. Frustration at the fact that in parts this album offers some excellent songs that have been well thought out and remind myself of why I am such a big fan of the band. However I feel let down that there are three or four songs, which seem like fillers- they aren’t well written and are just there to make up the numbers. Fans have waited three years for this album to come out but yet it still feels rushed. I am overall still a fan of the album, but I feel that the band have really missed an opportunity to make something that lives up to the standards set by the last album.
Favourite Song: Summer Didn’t Change A Thing
Overall Rating: 68/100
Burst Music 