Big TV (album)

Last updated

Big TV
White Lies Big TV cover.jpg
Studio album by
White Lies
Released12 August 2013 (2013-08-12)
StudioICP Studios, Brussels, Belgium
Genre Indie rock, post-punk revival, new wave [1]
Length45:08
Label Fiction (UK, Europe)
Harvest (USA)
Universal Music Canada (Canada)
Producer Ed Buller
White Lies chronology
Ritual
(2011)		Big TV
(2013)		 Friends
(2016)
Singles from Big TV
  1. "There Goes Our Love Again"
    Released: 5 August 2013
  2. "First Time Caller"
    Released: 16 September 2013

Big TV (stylised as BIG TV) is the third studio album by the British indie rock band White Lies. [2] [3] It was released on 12 August 2013 by Fiction Records in the UK and Europe, and on 20 August 2013 in the US (Harvest Records) [4] and Canada (Universal Music Canada). [5]

Contents

The album was produced by Ed Buller at ICP Studios in Brussels, Belgium [6]

On 18 August 2013, the album debuted at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. [7]

In an interview with NME in January 2013, bassist Charles Cave said that the album was the band's most melodic record, but continued the definitive White Lies sound. The album follows a story of a couple who leave a provincial area for a big city and, according to Cave, the idea of equality in a relationship is a recurring theme. [8]

Big TV was the first White Lies album to feature 12 rather than 10 tracks, two of which ("Space I" and "Space II") are instrumental interludes.

Formats and packaging

The album was released as both as a regular CD and a deluxe 2CD hardback book edition, featuring seven original demos of songs from the album and stills from the studio sessions. The Japanese version included the seven demos from the hardback book edition as well as a remix of "There Goes Our Love Again", all on one disc.[ citation needed ]Big TV was also released digitally and on 180gsm vinyl. [9]

The cover artwork for the album is a painting, "Pilot 2", by New York City-based artist Michael Kagan. [10] [11]

Promotion

The track "Getting Even" was released on 4 June 2013 as a free download on White Lies' SoundCloud page. [12] The song charted on Polish radio station Eska Rock, peaking at No. 1. [13]

"There Goes Our Love Again", the first official single from the album, was released on 5 August 2013. [2] [14] The song was played on the air for the first time on 18 June 2013, exclusively on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show. [15]

In July 2013, White Lies played three intimate shows at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London, celebrating the five-year anniversary of the band's first ever gig at the same venue. [16] They played tracks from Big TV and some of their earlier songs in front of 300 fans each night. [17] In August 2013, they made their Main Stage debut at Reading and Leeds Festivals. [18] [19] During their summer/fall 2013 tour, the band played more than 30 concerts in Europe and North America. [20]

On 29 July 2013, the band made the song "Change" available to stream on their official SoundCloud page. [21]

On 16 September 2013, White Lies announced that the next single from the album would be "First Time Caller", and they released an official music video for the song. [22]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 64/100 [23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [24]
Clash 7/10 [25]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [26]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [27]
The Line of Best FitStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [28]
NME 6/10 [29]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [30]
StereoboardStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [31]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [32]
This Is Fake DIY 7/10 [33]

Big TV received generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 64, based on 18 reviews. [23]

Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote that White Lies "sound even more engaged and clear-eyed than on the ambitious, stylized Ritual ," and they "combine the urgent passions of their debut with the conceptual ambitions of their sophomore effort and by doing so, make the best album of their career". [24] Cai Trefor of Clash magazine rated the album 7 out of 10, and described it as leaning towards retro, but also sounding firmly in the present, "utilising electronic samples with classic valve-driven guitar chords to accompany the trademark baritone of McVeigh". [25] The Line of Best Fit's reviewer Ryan Thomas noted the album's 1980s atmosphere but said that "with influences visible, nods clearly marked, White Lies aren't just repackaging yesterday's hits as their own. Instead they're making use of abandoned utensils to create anew, achieving catharsis through resourcefulness. Yes, they are working with a previously-explored aesthetic, but they are molding it into a beautifully-original product, per a vision that refuses to forget music's former greatness". [28]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Big TV"5:27
2."There Goes Our Love Again"3:36
3."Space i"0:48
4."First Time Caller"3:34
5."Mother Tongue"3:23
6."Getting Even"4:56
7."Change"4:51
8."Be Your Man"4:23
9."Space ii"1:10
10."Tricky to Love"4:17
11."Heaven Wait"4:42
12."Goldmine"3:56
Deluxe edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Big TV" (demo)5:38
2."There Goes Our Love Again" (demo)3:16
3."First Time Caller" (demo)3:34
4."Mother Tongue" (demo)3:51
5."Getting Even" (demo)4:46
6."Be Your Man" (demo)5:05
7."Tricky to Love" (demo)3:54
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Big TV" (demo)5:38
14."There Goes Our Love Again" (demo)3:16
15."First Time Caller" (demo)3:34
16."Mother Tongue" (demo)3:51
17."Getting Even" (demo)4:46
18."Be Your Man" (demo)5:05
19."Tricky to Love" (demo)3:54
20."There Goes Our Love Again (Torn Remix)"4:59

Personnel

White Lies

Production

Release history

RegionDateFormat Label
United Kingdom, Europe12 August 2013 CD, LP, digital download Fiction Records
United States20 August 2013 Harvest Records
Canada Universal Music Canada

Charts

Accolades

PublicationCountryWorkAccoladeYearRank
Pitchfork [49] UScover artThe Top 25 Album Covers of 20132013—

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References

  1. ↑ "ALBUM REVIEW: Big TV by White Lies -". b-sides.tv.
  2. 1 2 "White Lies announce new album 'Big TV' and give away new track – listen". NME . 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  3. ↑ "White Lies announce third album 'Big TV', give away track as free download". The Line of Best Fit. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "WHITE LIES ANNOUNCE THIRD ALBUM "BIG TV" OUT AUGUST 20th VIA CAPITOL/HARVEST". Red Light Management. 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
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  6. ↑ "White Lies Announce New Album, 'BIG TV'". This Is Fake DIY . 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
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  8. ↑ "White Lies say new album is their most 'melodic' yet". NME . 28 January 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "WHITE LIES ANNOUNCE AUGUST 20 FOR NEW ALBUM 'BIG TV'". Universal Music Canada. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "White Lies – The cover artwork for BIG TV is a painting..." 14 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013– via Facebook.
  11. ↑ "Michael Kagan". michaelkagan.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
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  13. ↑ "Getting Even – White Lies: teledysk, mp3, tekst na EskaRock.pl". Eska Rock (in Polish). Retrieved 16 July 2013.
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  15. ↑ "White Lies – 'There Goes Our Love Again' will be played for the..." 18 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013– via Facebook.
  16. ↑ "White Lies at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen". whitelies.com. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "White Lies – Apply for tickets to our most intimate gig this year..." 10 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013– via Facebook.
  18. ↑ "Green Day to headline Reading & Leeds Festival 2013, plus many more acts announced". NME . 11 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
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  20. ↑ "UPCOMING SHOWS / White Lies Official Website". whitelies.com. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  21. ↑ ""Change" on SoundCloud". SoundCloud . Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "White Lies – The official video for our next single "First Time Caller"..." 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013– via Facebook.
  23. 1 2 "Big TV Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 21 August 2013.
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