whitelies-m83.jpg

Once you strip White Lies’ “Nothing To Give” to its core components, there’s no question the band picked the best possible artist to remix it. There’s Harry McVeigh’s aching, echoing vocal; that overarching adolescence to its “When you said goodbye, I almost died” emotion; even the synths, and strings, and stadium guitars — all perfectly calibrated for Anthony Gonzalez to work his reinterprative skills. M83 largely abandons the original tracks, though, choosing chilled keyboard tones and whale-song-like patches dialed to his own brand of epic sentimentality, and wisely deletes the guitars entirely, replacing their more manufactured climax with a slow rise that takes six-and-a-half minutes to fully bloom. Really the remix hinges on McVeigh’s voice, which is smart because it’s the original track’s strongest asset; try the second verse, where M83 frames the lead vocal by simultaneously pinging clips of it to either side, like sending McVeigh down a hall of funhouse mirrors. Oh, the melodrama. We then spend a minute recalling the Knife before the release valve on everything is slowly let go for the big finish. Not the first time M83′s used this formula, but it is a great example of why, especially in the face of remix glut, an M83 reworking is still worth something.

The original:

White Lies are coming to the States this summer, most dates opening for Kings Of Leon:
08/07 – Chicago, IL (Lollapalooza)
08/09 – Calgary, ALB (V Festival)
09/25 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall (Headline Show)
09/26 – Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Theatre (Headline Show)
09/28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center*
09/30 – St Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center*
10/03 – Oklahoma City @ OK Ford Center*
10/04 – Austin TX (Austin City Limits Festival)
10/06 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center*
10/07 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center*
10/09 – Atlanta, GA @ Phillips Arena*
10/10 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena*
10/13 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center*
10/16 – Nashville, TN @ Sommet Center*
* w/Kings Of Leon

Comments (15)
  1. chrischke  |   Posted on Jun 8th, 2009

    white lies suuuuuuuck.

    (btw: m83 rule(s))

  2. fuckasauras shitbag  |   Posted on Jun 8th, 2009

    BEEP BEEP my appointments are like matterous wound jam! you smell like the gout! slapperdasher! map doooooooooooooooo

    look at me!!!! i lake bands and stuffff!!!! whoooooooooooo

  3. sheila shitburger  |   Posted on Jun 8th, 2009

    HACKERZ!!!!!!!!

  4. I enjoy White Lies’

  5. remixes of white lies > white lies.

    see m83 and crystal castles for reference points.

  6. White Lies are awesome, M83 is awesome, this song is double the awesome, it’s simple math.

  7. I think we’ve got the point now.

  8. Wait, stereogum loves white lies but hates vivian girls?
    Shoot me.

  9. Rock 2323  |   Posted on Jun 10th, 2009

    White Lies are one of the most underrated bands around. I have seen them twice and they kill it live! The album is fantastic as well. Its really about time someone mentioned them.

  10. White Lies has been one of the more interesting debuts of ‘09 that has been overshadowed by the great releases of the first half of the year (seriously, will the last half of 2009 even compare?).

    joyce
    http://www.innovative-enclosures.com

Leave a Reply

Login

You must be logged in to post, reply to, or rate a comment.

%s1 / %s2