It takes only a few minutes into "Unfinished Business" that you understand White Lies. It's those deep vocals that crescendo into a shout, those driving drums and those furious guitars that get you involved into their world.
That song is just the beginning of the journey. It might be dark, but it is invigorating none the less. The West London-based band has been in he minds and ears of British music fans for a while. Now, they have their eyes set on American with the release of their debut album, To Lose My Life, and their first extensive tour. It's one of the most impressive debut albums I've heard since I've been writing this site.
In actuality, the band have been veterans of the music scene in their previous incarnation, Fear of Flying. Similar to how Doves were first Sub Sub, White Lies is the band that three members always wanted to be.
I spoke with lead singer Harry McVeigh last week while he was in Glasgow and we talked about the transition to a new sound, the making of a No. 1 album in the UK and those black clothes they always seem to wear. I would like to welcome Harry to this space.
From when you played the Camden Crawl last April to now, you've released a No. 1 record and received a lot of recognition and accolades. Are you surprised about how far you've come in almost a year?
We've been in a band for about five years now, and we've worked really hard. We knew how everything worked. We certainly made our fair share of mistakes. We've been fortunate to work with the right people to get to where we are now and to push our music into the right direction.
Let's go back to the beginning, the three of you met in school, I assume.
Yeah, in secondary school when we were about 14 or 15. We started playing together shortly after that.
Did you guys have lofty aspirations to be in a rock band or was it that you needed something to do?
It was kind of like a hobby, like most bands are at that age. At first, we wanted to learn our instruments together. It's always more interesting to learn to play together than to teach yourself on your own. Then, it was great for social status at school.
Eventually Fear of Flying got off the ground. You were saying that you've made your fair share of mistakes. What did you wish you could have done different with the old band?
It was more along the lines of how to write a decent song. We were trying sound like all the other bands that were popular in the UK at the time. It was that indie pop music. When we decided to form White Lies, we started to write songs we could believe in and be passionate about. That made a huge difference. I do look back at Fear of Flying very fondly. It was a great learning curve.
Was there anything that happened or was it a mutual decision that you needed to rethink the band and it's musical approached.
It was more along the lines of nothing was happening. We had stopped playing gigs and recording. The turning point was when we wrote "Unfinished Business". It was completely different and we knew it was so much better than anything we had written before. It deserved a fresh start. It had such a clear sound that we knew we could write more songs along those lines. Then we wrote "Death" and that confirmed our believe.
Was anything that inspired you to write "Death" and "Unfinished Business"?
I think me and Charles just connected to feelings in the sound. It was easier to write out the music in those darker tones. Also, we found in easier to write in broad strokes, almost cinematically. It put a lot of images in our head.
How did that first show as White Lies go? Were you nervous that people would embrace the new band?
Completely nervous. It was about six months in that we played our first gig. We put a lot of hard work into it -- a lot of time recording demos and rehearsing for the shows. The show came off pretty well. We wanted to prove to our friends, families and people we work with that we were serious about White Lies.
It didn't take long before you gained attention and you signed a record deal. Were you surprised by that?
Absolutely. We knew we had a better chance at forming a career with the new material. It was a big shock and flattering at the same time. I feel pretty lucky because we got to surround ourselves with people who knew what we're trying to do.
Now that you had all the elements to make an album, did you feel pressure to come up with new material that was as successful as "Death" and "Unfinished Business"?
Huge amounts of pressure. At that time, there was a little bit of media attention bubbling away. Me, Charles and Jack are perfectionists. We wanted to make a complete, cohesive, definitive album. We had two months to record it. We had five songs going in and about five more to write in the studio. It was stressful, but we put it all on ourselves. I might sound arrogant, but I think we're very proud of that we pulled it off.
What I like to do when I hear demos is compare them to the finished product to see what was changed or improved. Were there aspects of "Death" and "Unfinished Business" that you wanted to improve?
We didn't need to fully re-record "Death". We did improve the sound quality on the drumming. The guitar parts we done over again, but all the vocals and keyboards were left alone. It's one of those things where you shouldn't mess around with something that's done. The good thing with having two months to record, is that it forces you not to overwork and obsess things.
The title track has a great chorus -- "Let's grow old together and die at the same time." Did you start with that lyric and build the song around that?
That lyric is certainly something I remember first when I think about the song. It's sticking into everybody's head. Yeah, that lyric came first and we built around that.
The last song "The Price Of Love" sounds like a big climax to an epic film. Did you want the album to come to climax like that?
We wanted the last song to push the boundaries of what we can do. "Nothing to Give" was along those lines as well. I love them because it shows our capabilities, and it almost makes me want to go back into the studio and write more songs. For "Price of Love," we knew we wanted to incorporate different elements like the string section. Ed Buller (the album's producer) was instrumental in working in those aspects.
Do you spend a lot of time on how the band looks, whether it be album art, advertising, websites, videos or live shows?
Well, with the live shows, we wear all black because we didn't want to spend time thinking about what to wear. It also puts more focus on the music. So we did thought early on about the overall presentation of band. Looking back on it, it was the easiest thing to do.
Do you see the live show evolving as well? You've toured with Glasvegas and they have elaborate stage lighting.
We do want to do something along those lines. We do want to headline bigger tours, where we can be more ambitious with the stage lighting and sound. Glasvegas's show is amazing. There's great spectacle in what they do.
You've toured with Glasvegas twice now. Do you get your black clothes mixed up?
[Laughs]. Funny. We love those guys. Their lyrics is some of the best I've heard. James is an especially a sweet man. They look out for us because we're considerably younger than they are.
I saw you back in August at Mercury Lounge -- do you like playing these small clubs, or do think playing large rooms is where it's at?
You know, there are plus and minuses with big and small rooms. Playing in a small room is exciting for me because the crowd is right in you face. They can see the blood, sweat and tears of what we do. With the big rooms, you can expand the production and do a lot of cool things. We do want it to be an event when people see us live.
I like to see who you take on tour, and I discovered a great band called The Joy Formidable through you. You have any other recommendation on bands to check out?
You probably know more about them, but we're taking School of Seven Bells out on tour in the UK in May. Another band we took out on tour who are brilliant are Post War Years. They just finished their album and I'm dying to hear it.
Final question for you -- it doesn't hurt to smile during a show, you know?
I do smile! [Laughs] You have to look for it. When the crowd is really into it and singing along, than it's hard not to smile.
Their U.S. tour with Friendly Fires and The Soft Pack begins in D.C. on March 24. They'll be appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman the same day.
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