Britain's
White Lies make the kind of fluorescent-lit post-punk that you might expect to be pumping out of storefront speakers in a futuristic Blade Runner-esque city. It's an evocative sound they further embrace on their sleek sixth effort, 2022's
As I Try Not to Fall Apart. The album, which again finds them working with longtime producer
Ed Buller and
Claudias Mittendorfer, who handle several of the tracks, is just as artfully monochromatic as their early work but with a nuanced sophistication they've been building upon since at least 2016's
Friends. While there are certainly '80s-style new wave hooks here, cuts like "Breathe," "I Don't Want to Go to Mars," and the title track are less predictable than some of their past works, balancing intriguing song construction with laser-beam synths, broken-glass guitar accents, and a sparkling blend of analog and electronic beats. It's a vibrant combination that brings to mind bands like
New Order and
the Fixx much more than
Joy Division. Later album cuts like "Roll December" and "The End," however, have a Teutonic, widescreen vibe with heavy bass offset by shiny teardrop keyboard and guitar riffs nicely conjuring
Disintegration-era
the Cure. At the core of all this shadowy romanticism is guitarist and lead singer
Harry McVeigh, whose dark-chocolate baritone croon is still pure Goth
Sinatra.
As I Try Not to Fall Apart has a sultry, back-of-the-club intensity that speaks to
White Lies' ever-deepening artistry. ~ Matt Collar