White Lies Hope You Believe The Hype

By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 3, 2009 6:00PM

This year's SXSW over-marketing award goes to White Lies, whose logo was everywhere: from a 20-foot high projection on the side of a loft building on heavily-trafficked Red River to the front of our hotel swipe key. Whether or not we appreciated the barrage, we certainly remembered the band's name and made a mental note to see what all the hype was about.

What we found was a slightly looser version of Interpol, for better or for worse. Apeing from Joy Division isn't uncommon, but getting famous for it has been, unless you're Carlos D. & company. Our initial reaction was to toss White Lies' debut, To Lose My Life, on the same pile reserved for The Bravery and Killers albums after Hot Fuss. But then we realized that Ian Curtis has been dead nearly 20 years, and maybe it's O.K. to start paying some natural homage to the godfather of post-punk.

That said, White Lies has some big shoes to fill and this first major U.S. Tour will do much to determine whether this Brit trio is the real deal or the product of an integrity-starved hype machine.

Whether the headliners live up to their billing or not, the night is worth the price of admission for SoCal's The Soft Pack. Self-described "no-bullshit rock 'n' roll," the former Muslims are usually a sure-fire bet for a high-energy, low-pretense throwdown.

White Lies plays tonight at the Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, w/ Friendly Fires and The Soft Pack, 9 p.m., $15, 21+