White Lies
Posted by BrokenSilence | Filed under White Lies
When I was in London a few weeks ago I saw the album cover for ‘To Lose My Life’ by the White Lies plastered on all the walls of the city streets. It wasn’t until I returned state side that I had a chance to listen to the record. And I have to say that it’s the best release I’ve heard this year. Granted we’re only three and a half months in, but this will be a tough one to beat.
The band is rooted in the city of London and though their sound is by no means unique and unparalled, they grasp it firmly and mold it into their own. They easily take their place amongst the members of the dark rock goth genre, birthed by none other than the late, great, Ian Curtis of Joy Division. Ever since his death, many have attempted to capture what he would have delivered, some have achieved greatness and others have failed; The Killers, Interpol, Echo & The Bunnymen all heed this sound, and now so do White Lies. Yet they bring a light to the darkness that so many imitators have failed to do. Harry McVeigh’s thundering baritone empowers the music and lyrics. He sounds like a fervent pastor dispelling his words with a God like gospel to charge and ignite his listeners.
The lyrics are filled with dark prose that Edgar Allen Poe would’ve been proud of. My favorite track on the album is one that has a different sound from the rest; ‘Death’. At first it seems like a Cars-esque, new wave, sunny song with upbeat melodies and romantic lyrics. However, the words describe McVeigh’s fear of death. ‘Unfinished Business’ is an eerie, melancholic tale with an equally melancholic stadium sound that discusses death and murder between lovers. See if you can figure out what the song is about. Hint: The singer is dead. I’ll let the tracks speak for themselves. All I find to be amazing.
White Lies - Unfinished Business
White Lies - Farewell To The Fairground
Tags: Echo & The Bunnymen, Edgar Allen Poe, Ian Curtis, Interpol, Joy Division, London, The Killers
She’s Lost Control Again
Posted by BrokenSilence | Filed under Joy Division
I just watched the Ian Curtis biopic, ‘Control’. Yes, very delayed since I should have watched it when it initially came out, being that Joy Division has been one of my favorite bands for as long as I can remember. Hey, sometimes you don’t get around to things. The movie was fantastic. Shot on color film and converted to a smooth, clean black and white, the movie is a cinematic beauty. Every frame is like a perfectly composed black and white photo, and rightly it should be, given that it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the famous Dutch photographer who got his start in his early 20s photographing Joy Division. Corbijn’s photo above is the remembered photo of the band. The movie is really one of the most aesthetically pleasing films I’ve seen.
To those of you who might not know, Joy Division was a band from greater Manchester, England that existed between 1977-1980, that was one of the earliest bands on the coolest record labels of all time, Factory Records. The term ‘Joy Division’ refers to the groups of female prisoners used as prostitutes in Nazi concentration camps during WWII, mentioned in the book ‘The House of Dolls’. Ian Curtis was the band’s lead singer and sole lyricist. His short life was marked by epilepsy and severe seizures, which led to depression and marital problems and eventually his suicide on the eve of what would be the band’s first American tour. He was only 23.
In such a short time, with only two albums, Joy Division made a lasting and fierce impact on the musical world. They initially started as a punk hard rock band that eventually transitioned to a deeper, darker, melancholic sound with a moody expression to create an eerie spatiality and pioneered what would become the post-punk movement of the late 70s. They influenced most likely all bands you can think of from U2 to The Cure to The Killers. The remaining members of the band of course went onto form New Order, one of the most critically and commercially successful bands of the last century. Below I have put down a few of my favorite Joy Division songs. Would it be expected to start with ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’?
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Joy Division - She’s Lost Control
Tags: Anton Corbijn, Control, Factory Records, Ian Curtis, New Order
