NME Breakthrough: White Lies – Brixton Academy, London, 2009

A dark-edged trio hailing from London, White Lies take sonic cues from the likes of Joy Division, The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & The Bunnymen. Indeed, the three musicians are so committed to the U.K.’s post-punk scene that they signed with Fiction Records, a Polydor imprint best known for its ’80s releases by The Cure and The Associates.While attending school in West London, singer/guitarist Harry McVeigh, bassist/lyricist Charles Cave, and drummer/keyboardist Jack Lawrence Brown formed the group in 2004 under the name Fear Of Flying.After releasing two neo-Brit-pop singles on the Young and Lost Club label in 2006 – “Routemaster” (produced by Brit-pop mainstay Stephen Street) and “Three’s a Crowd” – the trio changed musical directions, adopted a new name, adapted a more sombre group persona and began creating doomy material like the funereal murder ballad “Unfinished Business” and the self-explanatory “Death.” Following the release of the Nick Cave-like “Unfinished Business” in April 2008, the trio made its television debut on ‘Later With Jools Holland.’ “Death” was released as a single in September 2008, coinciding with the trio’s first headlining tour of the U.K. Their debut album, ‘To Lose My Live…’ – produced by Ed Buller and Max Dingel – was released in early 2009 and made number one in the UK album chart.One of the hottest new bands on the UK alternative rock front, already with a number one album to their name, White Lies features here in a recently-filmed concert.