6 – White Lies

This London trio’s debut album, To Lose My Life, is dripping with the sounds of all the best post-punk bands of the ’80s. Joy Division, The Cure and Echo and The Bunnymen are obvious influences. So to are modern brethren such as The Killers, Interpol and Editors.

When I originally downloaded the album this past spring, I actually got a bunch of shoddy — possibly live — tracks. You could tell the songs were decent, but the quality really detracted from the experience, and I only listened to the entire album once.

I finally got around to re-downloading the album with the proper studio tracks, and it’s like night and day. From the solid opening track, “Death,” I was pulled in by lead singer Harry McVeigh’s dark voice.

I was already a big fan of the early singles — “E.S.T.” and “To Lose My Life” — but after the second listen I found a lot of new favorites, such as “A Place to Hide,” “Fifty on Our Foreheads,” “Unfinished Business,” “Farewell to the Fairground” and the aforementioned opener.

With my second attempt at downloading, I also picked up three bonus tracks and a couple remixes. The extra songs “You Still Love Him” and “Black Song” definitely give off a Killers vibe.

I’m currently listening to the album for the second time today and I’m officially in love. I’d compare it to Glasvegas’ self-titled disc from last year, as both are debut albums packed full of great songs. And just like their Scottish counterparts, To Lose My Life will definitely be on a slew of Best of 2009 lists, including mine.

You can hear a few songs on their MySpace page and at their official website — including a bunch of remixes for “Death” — so below I’ve posted one you can’t find. It’s the song that led me to White Lies in the first place.

White Lies – E.S.T.