Big TV
Studio album by
White Lies
Released12 August 2013 (2013-08-12)
StudioICP Studios, Brussels, Belgium
GenreIndie rock, post-punk revival, new wave[1]
Length45:08
LabelFiction (UK, Europe)
Harvest (USA)
Universal Music Canada (Canada)
ProducerEd 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]

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. 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
Metacritic64/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[24]
Clash7/10[25]
The Guardian[26]
The Independent[27]
The Line of Best Fit[28]
NME6/10[29]
The Observer[30]
Stereoboard[31]
Slant Magazine [32]
This Is Fake DIY7/10[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

Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom, Europe 12 August 2013 CD, LP, digital download Fiction Records
United States 20 August 2013 Harvest Records
Canada Universal Music Canada

Charts

Accolades

Publication Country Work Accolade Year Rank
Pitchfork[49] US cover art The Top 25 Album Covers of 2013 2013 —

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.
  5. ↑ "WHITE LIES ANNOUNCE AUGUST 20 FOR NEW ALBUM 'BIG TV'". Universal Music Canada. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "White Lies Announce New Album, 'BIG TV'". This Is Fake DIY. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  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..." Facebook. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Michael Kagan". michaelkagan.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "White Lies - Getting Even (Free Download)". SoundCloud. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Getting Even - White Lies: teledysk, mp3, tekst na EskaRock.pl". Eska Rock (in Polish). Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ "White Lies - 'There Goes Our Love Again' will be played for the..." Facebook. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  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..." Facebook. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Green Day to headline Reading & Leeds Festival 2013, plus many more acts announced". NME. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "White Lies / Reading Festival 2013". readingfestival.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  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"..." Facebook. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Big TV Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  24. 1 2 Collar, Matt. "Big TV - White Lies". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  25. 1 2 Trefor, Cai (30 July 2013). "White Lies - Big TV". Clash. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  26. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (8 August 2013). "White Lies: Big TV – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  27. ↑ Price, Simon (10 August 2013). "Album: White Lies, Big TV (Fiction)". The Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  28. 1 2 Thomas, Ryan (8 August 2013). "Album Review: White Lies - Big TV". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  29. ↑ Mackay, Emily (8 August 2013). "NME Album Reviews - White Lies - 'Big TV'". NME. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  30. ↑ Empire, Kitty (11 August 2013). "White Lies: Big TV – review". The Observer. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  31. ↑ Marsh, Graeme (12 August 2013). "White Lies - Big TV (Album Review)". Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  32. ↑ LeChevallier, Mike (16 August 2013). "White Lies: Big TV | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  33. ↑ Standlee, Nathan. "White Lies - Big TV". This Is Fake DIY. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  34. ↑ "ARIA Report: Issue 1225" (PDF). ARIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  35. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – White Lies – Big TV" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  36. ↑ "Ultratop.be – White Lies – Big TV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  37. ↑ "Ultratop.be – White Lies – Big TV" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  38. ↑ "Danishcharts.dk – White Lies – Big TV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  39. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – White Lies – Big TV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  40. ↑ "Lescharts.com – White Lies – Big TV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  41. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – White Lies – Big TV". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  42. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 33, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  43. ↑ "Album - Classifica settimanale WK 36 (dal 02-09-2013 al 08-09-2013)" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  44. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  45. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  46. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – White Lies – Big TV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – White Lies – Big TV". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  48. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  49. ↑ Renaud, Michael (5 December 2013). "The Top 25 Album Covers of 2013". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
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