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Say hello to Friendly Fires, born of commuter belt boredom, now one of the most exciting new bands coming from the UK. Last year, a super limited seven-inch, "Paris," was judged to be the single of the week in both the NME and The Guardian. They were the first unsigned band to appear on Channel 4’s Transmission show. Now signed to XL, they count Radiohead, Vampire Weekend and Adele as their labelmates.
It’s not hard to see what all the fuss is about. The aforementioned "Paris" is a deft combination of clattering percussion and a blissed out, hum-along hook, "In The Hospital" combines a driving punk funk groove with an unstoppable pop melody and joyous vocals in the chorus of "Skeleton Boy" give the song such a lift you could dust under the band’s amps. Then there’s the brilliantly wonky waltz-like rhythms on "White Diamonds," which point to their love of German techno label Kompakt, while the Paul Epworth-produced first single "Jump In The Pool" is an inspired collision of loose Liquid Liquid drums and My Bloody Valentine atmospherics.
White Lies is the glowering, glistening, moody, magnificent, cheekbones-of-granite, stone cold future of rock... The band's debut album is a brooding synth rock monolith of dark, cinematic tales of murder, madness, revenge, loss and love from beyond the grave. This is a monstrous new talent; a band of immaculate melody, poise and portent. 
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