Music > Interviews

White Lies

The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA

by Alex

17/02/17

Indie rock band London trio White Lies, straight outta Ealing, have been playing together since they were 15 years old. They’re just released their fourth album and are busy touring the world to great acclaim. We spoke to Charles Cave, bass player and songwriter, about the cover design for new album Friends, playing gigs in Mexico and how much they love The Killers.

Friends is your fourth album, which came out last year. Could you summarise what it’s about?

It's a record about this quite poignant time in our lives which feels a bit like the sunset of youth finally happening. In the last year the marriages, pregnancies, divorces, moving to new countries have all ramped up amongst friends. I think this album is about coming to terms with a change in the way our relationships are going to work from now on. It's by no means a critical view, just a consideration of that change.

As you’ve progressed in your career as a band has your routine when it comes to writing and recording changed?

Yes and no. We still write albums as simply as we can, Harry and I at Harry's house, with as little equipment as possible, making very crude demos. We like writing with basic tools and leave the songs quite bare sounding until we have a reason to "produce" them a bit ourselves. Doing that really exposes the song for what it is, and helps you consider if it's actually any good. I would say that our recording process has become a lot more economical too. We try to get the best results in the shortest time, spending as little money as we can.

I wonder as a band who’ve had chart success in the past, have you found there’s been any pressure to produce a certain type of music on later albums – i.e. ‘hits’?

One does always consider the idea of 'hits'. But I'm not sure where we fit into all that. 99% of Top 40 music is fairly unlistenable, and I feel that even if White Lies wrote a Losing My Religion or an Everybody Wants To Rule The World it wouldn't get us any closer to a chart entry than any of our singles to date. Perhaps I'm wrong. The chart is largely dominated by pop dance music and we don't really have an interest in that genre at the moment. I will say though that there is always potential for a massive ballad to clean-up. The wonderful Adele is testimony to that. So perhaps we ought to be having a go at something along those lines. But to be honest, we just try to write 'great songs'. And for us, most great songs that we listen to were written before the year 2000. So that is always going to slightly restrict our recordings from being super modern-sounding.

It’s approaching a decade since White Lies began – To Lose My Life just celebrated its eighth birthday. How has life changed for the three of you in this time?

Our lives haven't changed all that much. We're settled in our homes, though Harry moved to San Francisco six months ago. I love dogs even more than I did eight years ago. We all read more. We all are better cooks...that kind of thing.

Are you where you hoped you’d be as a band? If you could give your younger selves any advice in retrospect what would it be?

Yes, I think so. I'm sat in a bed in Guadalajara, Mexico about to play a sold out show to 2,300 people tonight. And then tomorrow in Mexico City play a sold out show to another 2,000. It really is incredible to be in this position on our fourth record. In terms of reception, this album has been our best. I didn't expect that. But this album has actually sold us more tickets than any other, the tour of Europe was our biggest yet. To be "on the up" eight years in is just wonderful. I'm not sure that we ever wanted to be an arena band. We don't believe in our own bullshit enough for that to happen. We're far to self deprecating.

What was the inspiration behind the maze design on the Friends LP cover?

To be honest it just looks great. The idea of our artwork is always "something that looks awesome". I wanted something colourful and slightly sci-fi so found this artist who designed labels for Del Maguey Mescal bottles. Unfortunately his works that I liked weren't available for use, so we continued down a similar avenue and the mazes came about thanks to the brilliant team at Big Active in London.

Friends came out in October and still feels very fresh to me, as a fan. Do you find the novelty of playing new material wears off when you’re playing so many shows?

No, it has a pretty good shelf-life! I still feel There Goes Our Love Again or First Time Caller from the previous album, Big TV, are new songs. And they're four years old or more. Granted a song like Farewell To The Fairground does feel like a relic, but that doesn't stop me enjoying playing it. You can keep older songs interesting by setting yourself little challenges during them - adding a tricky full here and there, changing how you play a certain moment slightly.

This album campaign has taken to you to places as far afield as Russia and Mexico. How does it feel to have fans spread such a long way from home?

It feels amazing. As a band, we got ourselves out of the UK as soon as we could in the early days. We spent years solidifying a fan base worldwide, and you really can't cut corners with that. Even bands who sell a million records in England can't just turn up and do 2,000 tickets in Guadalajara. You need to come and do a club show to 400 first, like we've done. We put serious hard work in over the last eight years, and it has taken us to a brilliant vantage point.

What has your experience been like visiting the US recently, in terms of the political and social atmosphere? Is politics a topic you have or would ever focus on in your music?

No, I stay clear of direct politics in music. I think it curdles. It almost takes the playfulness out of it, and all music starts with play as innocent as a child fingerprinting. To try and dress it up as something as calculated and often sinister as politics seems contrary to the essence of music to me. The US has been good. There a sober atmosphere there at the moment, but it's good to see people passionate about what they believe is right and wrong. There's little passivity out there. People have an opinion and they'll tell you it and fight for it. That's very encouraging at this time.

You’ve got a huge date supporting The Killers at Hyde Park coming up over summer. What does that band mean to you?

Sam's Town came out just before we started White Lies and we all definitely played that record to death. Even now at weddings, songs from their debut like Mr Brightside are a guaranteed staple, and never fail to whip everyone up in a nostalgic warmth. The Killers are a brilliant band of great musicians. It's an honour to play with them. I will add, that it's equally an honour to be sharing the stage that day with Tears For Fears!!! I'm going to wet myself.

Are there any other new bands you’re into at the minute? What do you make of the indie/alternative scene in the UK currently?

On other dates we have the amazing Alex Cameron supporting us. His debut album, out last year, was a highlight and he already has a new one finished. All eyes on him. He could be a big player in the next few years. I think the UK music scene is pretty defunct right now. Australia and America are leading by a long mile. I can't actually remember the last record I bought by a new UK band...but hey that's just me, and to be fair, I listen to a lot of music that has nothing to do with 2017 in the U.K. I'm much more interested in finding hidden gems from the past.

White Lies play UEA on 12th March. Tickets available from ueatickets.ticketabc.com.