Monday 29/09/08 White Lies, The Joy Formidable, Post War Years @ Komedia, Brighton

Coming along when the deafening buzz surrounding them reaches a higher gear, as well as the much-awaited release of single ‘Death’, this White Lies headline tour couldn’t come at a better time for the band. In the audience it’s easy to pick out the hardcore fans over the newcomers, but they all share something in common; they’re all very, very interested in this West London outfit. And who could blame them? They’ve quite clearly mastered this doom-and-gloom image to accompany their equally drastic sound that plays around with lyrics about funerals, the cost of love and the death of a relationship or the death of someone even closer. Right from the moment they left the stage for the last time as Fear of Flying and re-appeared as White Lies, they had every intention of bringing the glory days of black suits and frowning faces, back to our music scene.

There’s something peculiar and fascinating about Post War Years too. They enter the spacious Komedia stage first to a few undying screams from local fans but by the end of their set, they’ve won nearly everybody over with their experimental, sample-crammed set, buzzing with energy and guts. One effort played towards the end, sounds remarkably similar to something Battles would conjure up on their future record, but the follow-up truly shines with its Hot Chip-esque simplicity. They’re easily the best support band I’ve watched this year and it seemed that a few surrounding me felt exactly the same.

The same words couldn’t be gifted to The Joy Formidable unfortunately. Although they dress similar to White Lies or even Glasvegas, their sound wasn’t nearly as intriguing at any point in the stadium-lusting, seemingly lengthy set. The lead vocals of Ritzy sounded formidable when placed against a contrasting, thumping eerie riff from her guitar but when exposed on their own, there was little to shout about. Similar to White Lies, you could see they had clear intentions of the big time yet there was something very underwhelming about their energetic set.

What White Lies succeed in over the second act is the sheer quality of their songs. ‘Unfinished Business’ and ‘Death’ have been doing the rounds for some time now but even the b-sides on the latest single glow in audacity and intensity. The crowd is bulky and agitated by the time they enter to rapturous applause and drunken wails but by the time the opener gets into a consistent and confident waltz, those around me are silent, completely and utterly silent. A risky tactic but ‘Unfinished Business’ is unleashed early on, obviously to a wild response. Harry McVeigh’s vocals are placed perfectly above his gloomy guitar and the spiky bass courtesy of Charles Cave and even though their voices are near identical, it only adds to the oomph-factor of each and every song played. A memorable rendition of ‘From The Stars’ is followed soon after by a predictable closer but the only one suitable, ‘Death’. Those previously silent are now opening their mouths wide open, shouting back the words, "FEAR'S GOT A HOLD OF ME!" over and over again. And it is just one of those performances where even though you’re not familiar with the majority of the songs played, you can enjoy yourself and anticipate any future releases even more so, whilst licking your lips with impatience.

Even though this set has probably been rehearsed countless times and even though if you turned up for the gig tomorrow, you’d be witnessing a replica performance, everyone in this room would be happy to fork out for a ticket once more.