To Lose My Life

Sometimes a band comes out with a debut that matches the hype. To Lose My Life is such an album, and White Lies are the real deal. The London trio is so enamored with the cream of the ‘80s English post-punk crop they even signed to Fiction Records, the little imprint home to bands like the Cure and Scottish new wavers the Associates. “Death” confidently opens with a dark and muted bass that pedals high and heavy like Joy Division’s Peter Hook. Cold keyboards waft over the rhythm before singer/guitarist Harry McVeigh comes in with the dramatically gallant inflections of Teardrop Explodes-era Julian Cope. He also recalls the elegant croons of a young Ian McCullough in the chorus of “Unfinished Business,” easily the album’s most memorable song with lyrics that perfectly capture the genre’s burning urgency of emotion:  “You got blood on your hands/ And I know it’s mine, I just need more time/ So get off your low/ Let’s dance like we used to." The title track is especially successful at making music that is simultaneously gloomy, catchy, and danceable.