Scrap Music

Death may not be the rosiest of titles for an indie pop song but new boys White Lies are steadily building a following with hits to their myspace page gathering pace, setting things up nicely for the April release of their debut single ‘Unfinished Business’. They’ll undoubtedly be popular with moping students plus 30-somethings hankering after sounds from their youth.

White Lies tap into that vein of epic emotive songwriting popular in the UK during the post-punk period before Britpop reared its head. This influence actually results in it sounding a bit dated (’Death’ could have been plucked straight from Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen’s stables) yet when it’s as well crafted as this, the lack of originality doesn’t do much harm at all. Bands that wear influences on their sleeve are always more interesting than those who hide them.

Whether White Lies build on their early promise remains to be seen but if they can move away from dirge-filled anthems they’ll start appealing to a lot more than the student crowd and hangers-on from the Hacienda days.