White Lies at Troxy

White Lies put on a highly emotional gig at Troxy last night as part of an extensive tour promoting their fourth album, Friends, released in October. The venue was packed with heated fervour, as the audience sang and danced along particularly well to older songs like the anthemic Unfinished Business and Farewell to the Fairground.

As lead singer Harry McVeigh humbly pointed out, the group had had a three-year gap between their last two albums and had not been sure what turn-out to expect on this tour –  their gratefulness seemed genuine and the high points of the show were fuelled by the endless energy generated by loyal fans.

The band got off to a motionless start, letting the spectacular light technicians do a lot of the performing for them as they eased into the set with a sweeping single from their latest release, Don’t Take It Out On Me.

The third tune, To Lose My Life, saw Harry McVeigh letting go of his guitar to an instrumentally sparse intro while he sang in his powerful tenor among the expansive hum of reverberating electronic sound. While the honesty of their intention was evident from then on, it took until another well-loved number from their first album, The Price of Love, for the frontman to sufficiently let loose. He even moved around on stage as the energy of the well-known rock number grabbed them, dragging the West London band out of their moody indie persona, which unfortunately tended to dominate the gig.

Jack Lawrence-Brown held it together impeccably through song after song fuelled by precise drums, like the epic From the Stars with its rigid, pounding rhythm section and soaring guitar solo. Unfortunately McVeigh struggled on vocals at times, letting some higher notes disappear off-mic and even cracking a little, presumably from the strain of being heard over the sheer volume of the music.

The set ended with a solid peak of energy in Bigger than Us, the final anthem of the night. They seemed at their strongest when they did older tunes, as many of the new ones contained restrictive backing tracks like in Is My Love Enough. It was a fluctuating show, but nevertheless White Lies pushed an adoring young crowd out of their seats, kissing and dancing and moshing in droves.

Jennifer Sanin
Photo: Guifre de Peray

For further information about White Lies and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Don’t Take It Out On Me here: