White Lies at Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis (08 Feb 2017)

They’re now letting a little light in, but the darkness is still so inviting—

Post punk UK band White Lies returned to the area for the first time in eight years, re-acquainting themselves with a still-loyal following and first-time converts, at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis.

The evening began in near darkness though, as VOWWS, probably the only Australian/Iranian dark industrial experimental LA-based duo that you’ll ever encounter, opened with a sweeping thirty-minute set, conjuring even more blackness from the already darkened theater.  Matt and Rizz released their debut full-length, The Great Sun (Cleopatra Records) in late 2015, even catching the ear of Gary Numan, who duets on the recorded version of ‘Losing Myself in You’ (played live this night, though without him). 

The pair alternate lead vocals, somewhat softening the electronic harshness and even played a new unreleased song, from an album due later this year.  A perfect fit for the Cleopatra roster, from the Japan-inspired album title track, to throbbing beat of ‘Holy Youth’, to the hard electro beat of their set-ending ‘Councillor’, this is an act for anyone into the likes of Sisters of Mercy, Swans, newer Gary Numan, and anything goth on the same record label. 

When we first saw London band White Lies in early 2009, they seemed young and fresh faced, though serious and dressed all in black, with lyrics primarily about death.  Their middle-slot set at the Triple Rock Social Club took them next to the big arena downtown, as they would open for Kings of Leon (?!) that fall at the Target Center, then weren’t seen locally for another eight years.  Thankfully, the band have returned, with new music, a slightly new look, and smiles on the face of bandleader Harry McVeigh. 

The new album is fourth studio full-length, Friends (BMG) released last fall, adorned with a larger-than-life illustration of a maze on the album’s cover.  That image, along with several related others, beamed from an overhead projector as the band (McVeigh, Charles Cave, and Jack Lawrence-Brown, joined by Tommy Bowen and Rob Lee) played with all dressed in dark clothing, except McVeigh sporting a white t-shirt. 

The group opened their eighty-minute headlining set with the new album’s first track, ‘Take It Out on Me’, with McVeigh’s slightly raspy deep vocal sounding similar to Ian Curtis (Joy Division), Paul Banks (Interpol), and Tom Smith (Editors), though musically they are much more euphoric than the aforementioned bands. 

2009’s ‘To Lose My Life’ chugged with a Jesus and Mary Chain-esque bass beat as a keyboard tone pierced above it as McVeigh sang, “let’s grow old together… and die at the same time”.  Contrast that with the new album’s ‘Hold Back Your Love’ which was played next, and featured a particularly bouncy synth beat, and it becomes evident that there’s now some welcome light at the end of the tunnel. 

‘Morning in LA’ from the new album, echoed ‘80s era synths and Cars-like guitar riffs, while still retaining a very modern flair, as did ‘Is My Love Enough’ with McVeigh singing “Thinking this way for you,  I over-dream every dream”.  

A handful of songs from their 2009 debut finished the main set, ending with the band’s second-ever single, ‘Death’ with opening lyric, “I love the feeling when we lift off, watching the world so small below”.  “How great it is, to see so many of you in this room with us” McVeigh said prefacing the song, “it does mean a lot to us”.

Instead of walking off then back on for the encore, the band simply carried on, to keep momentum, continuing with the title track to 2013’s ‘Big TV’. The new ‘Come On’ had people clapping along as McVeigh sang a masterful lyric, “Love is just a word that ties the gap between ‘you’ and ‘I’” at the song’s bridge.

“Hopefully, it’s not too long until we come back” McVeigh said before final song of the evening, 2011’s ‘Bigger Than Us’ describing love flickering “in the city of lights” and “headlights on the hillside”.  White Lies had returned, with light invading the dark, creating a sonic palette of a band growing musically in the right way.