Disregard your presuppositions brought to mind by the title of London's White Lies' new single, for in their world, Death carries with it any icy optimism.
The verse may limp a little languidly to the sky-scraping highlight of this song, but sounding like Joy Division lecturing The Killers on how to write a song, Death has enough about it to entertain. The song's exhilarating finale sees White Lies unleash a powerful torrent of guitar/synth fuelled energy behind Harry McVeigh's barking vocal, upgraded from the sombre baritone of the verse, and is reminiscent of The Killers' most heart-pounding moments.
Alas, you can't help but feel that maybe White Lies could be doing more, however passable this single is. Lyrically, McVeigh fails to engage, and irrespective of the holes their hooks punch in the stratosphere, the space in-between awkwardly plods along, cocky enough to share the plaudits of the song's best bits, but somehow shitting itself when it's in the spotlight. What follows will be interesting, but for now, White Lies' fizzy gloom-rock has ensured there will be life after Death.
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