It’s great to see the White Lies back in Liverpool for the first time since those heady pre-pandemic days of February 2019.
The band have come a long way since their first album when they arrived on the crest of a new rave/post-punk scene. Anchored around an 80’s electro new wave sound, ‘To Lose My Life’ was released in January 2009 and saw them establish a place at the top table of the British music scene. Although they’ve dropped back from mainstream attention, like Editors, they’ve established a huge and very loyal following built on a foundation of emotive live performances and six critically acclaimed albums.
Their latest long player, ‘As I try not to fall apart’ remains faithful to their original blueprint and builds on the direction set out on 2017’s ‘Friends‘ with heightened pop-sensibilities and euphoric anthems. Needless to say, the fanbase is divided, some really like the new direction band is heading towards, others prefer to stay with their classic sound. That’s life, you can’t please all the people all the time so let’s focus on tonight’s show.
Opening proceedings are buzzing new Glasgow techno-punks VLURE. Post punk tunes delivered in a Nitzer Ebb sized hand grenade that is Hamish Hutcheson’s aggressive stage presence combined with heavy guitars and techno rhythms, it’s fresh, brave and makes for a pretty explosive live proposition.
The Grand Central Hall is a pretty impressive venue in anyone’s books. A beautiful Grade 2 listed building located in heart of Liverpool City Centre. It’s as striking inside as out with a huge pipe organ forming the backdrop to the stage. It makes for quite a contrast as the high-tech light show kicks in during opening track of the night, ‘Farewell to the fairground’ from their debut. The sound is huge and detailed, with intricate layers of guitars and synth enveloping the audience while a booming rhythm section shakes the foundations of the hall.
‘There goes our love again follows before we get our first taste of the new album, the single ‘Am I really going to die’. Throughout the rest of the set, the band cleverly mix things up with a healthy mix of old and new so time to forget that toilet/bar break!
As the set progresses there’s much more of a club vibe as last two albums feature more heavily. Songs like ‘Blue drift’, ‘Is my love enough’ or ‘Step outside the disco’ allow the funky bass lines and synths fill the room with a groove that’s hard to resist. Instant ear worms that which combined with a very impressive light show and confetti raining from the skies, instils a collective sense of joy throughout the crowd.
Finishing with ‘I don’t want to go to mars’ and an encore that included ‘As I try not to fall apart‘ and ‘Bigger than us‘ it was clear we are witnessing a great gig within a great setting. We’ve seen everything, an eclectic range of songs from the band’s discography, a shower of confetti, fantastic sound and I for one, am already looking to the next time I get to see White Lies live.
Words & pictures: Tom Adam @tomadamphoto