White Lies – As I Try Not to Fall Apart

Over a decade has passed since White Lies debuted with To Lose My Life, and their latest release reinforces a stubborn refusal to stray from that theme. Am I Really Gonna Die, welcoming back longterm collaborator Ed Buller, was recorded over only two studio sessions and plays cohesively as a result. As always, the band have a propensity for the 80s – an era of tech development in favour of spacious sound, to which their grandiloquence is well suited. The production renders the band as ardently cavernous as ever, with retro pop tones for futuristic themes, reverberating bass and distant yet slick synths. Their custom recipe has been launched further in the time machine.

The title track epitomises prog-pop infusion, inspired by Ivans xtc, the 2000 adaption of Tolstoy’s The Death of Ilyich. Lyricist (bassist and vocalist) Charles Cave is stuck between acceptance and denial: “Am I going to die? I’m never really gonna, but am I?”. Death is bounced between verse and chorus, the music expressing reluctance to face it, or perhaps simply vain hope to survive it. 

The 80s live on in the funk-tinged airiness of Step Outside, the acid house groove of Blue Drift and the seductively sonic appeal of As I Try Not to Fall Apart, belonging to a club for all its allure. Tenderness is wrapped in decisive beats: the track struts, but bravely articulates male vulnerability and a shaky sense of worth. I Don’t Want to Go to Mars veers daringly close to Spaceman in a “something troubling is afoot” sense, but steers clear of a distinct homage to The Killers into a timely, bombastic opposition to Elon Musk and his billionaire space race. It’s rightly described as a full-force rebuttal of the deceptive concept that the grass is greener on the other side (of the galaxy). 

Rock reappears with Roll December‘s grungy bass and quick-fire lyrics. A relatively encouraging melody almost fools listeners into happy thoughts, but “could a man die if he was never alive?” reminds them of the dark lyrical disposition. The catch with White Lies remains that indelible hooks and a resolute approach distract from feeling bogged down by their cult-like indulgence in existential torment. However, bold updates in the sound production bring genuine pockets of breathing space amid the morbid ruminative vortexes, finding swagger and an uncharacteristic softening that is more philosophical than the obsessive declarative eruptions elsewhere. 

Tolstoy is once again brought to mind in the words, “He sees the advance towards death in everything”. If listeners can survive all the death, Cave’s fascination with the way people navigate its inevitability can be appreciated. White Lies find life in doom and gloom, but if their urgency becomes overbearing, sound-wise, this album is a direct route to 80s euphoria instead.

Georgia Howlett

As I Try Not to Fall Apart is released on 18^th February 2022. For further information or to order the album visit White Lies’s website here.

Watch the video for the single As I Try Not to Fall Apart here: