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To Lose My Life...

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To Lose My Life...
Three pipes can be seen rising out of the ground, in front of a black and white street backdrop.
Studio album by
White Lies
Released19 January 2009
RecordedMay–September 2008
StudioICP Studios, Brussels
Kore Studios, Acton, London
Genre
Length44:50
Label
Producer
White Lies chronology
To Lose My Life...
(2009) 		Ritual
(2011)
Singles from To Lose My Life...
  1. "Unfinished Business"
    Released: 28 April 2008
  2. "Death"
    Released: 22 September 2008
  3. "To Lose My Life"
    Released: 12 January 2009
  4. "Farewell to the Fairground"
    Released: 23 March 2009
  5. "Death (re-issue)"
    Released: 29 June 2009

To Lose My Life... (also known by extended title of To Lose My Life or Lose My Love, or shortened as To Lose My Life) is the debut album by the British indie rock[1] band White Lies. It was released on 19 January 2009 by Fiction Records.[2] The album was produced by Ed Buller and Max Dingel, and was recorded at ICP Studios in Belgium and Kore Studios in London.

The album produced four singles: "Unfinished Business", "Death" and "To Lose My Life", prior to its release, and "Farewell to the Fairground" in the months following. "Death" was reissued in June 2009, with "From the Stars" appearing as iTunes's "Single of the Week" during December 2008.[3] The album was released in the United States on 17 March 2009.[4]

History and production

The album was recorded at ICP Studios in Brussels, Belgium,[5] and Kore Studios, Acton, west London.[6] It was produced by Ed Buller and Max Dingel, who previously worked with Suede, the Killers and Glasvegas. Further mixing was completed by Alan Moulder.[7] The album featured a 20-piece orchestra,[8] later stated as a 25-piece, arranged by Buller.[9] Upon entering the studio, the band only had five early demo versions of tracks "Death", "E.S.T.", "Farewell to the Fairground", "From the Stars" and "Unfinished Business"; the rest of the songs were written and recorded during studio time.[10]

Promotion and release

On 22 September 2008, the band played nine of the 10 released tracks at Manchester's Night and Day Café. Reviewing the gig, NME described the album by its provisional title of To Lose My Life or Lose My Love.[11]

The album was released on 19 January 2009 in the United Kingdom on CD and 12-inch vinyl, as well as in a number of other limited-edition forms, including one housed in a green cardboard box. Pre-orders bought from online retailer Play.com were packaged in a slipcase exclusive to that website, while the iTunes Store released the album with a number of bonus tracks and remixes previously only found as B-sides. White Lies' official website packaged the first 500 purchases with a green companion booklet, containing studio pictures and individual essays written by members of the band and production team. The site also published the album in a deluxe boxset, which contained the album on six 7-inch vinyl discs, along with an extra 7" containing demo versions of "The Price of Love" and "Nothing to Give". On 13 February 2009, the band announced the release of an instrumental version of the album, free with iTunes and physical purchases.[12] The album's artwork was nominated alongside 49 others for Best Art Vinyl 2009 by website Artvinyl.com. Finishing seventh in the overall poll,[13] the artwork was displayed in multiple exhibitions in Birmingham and London during November 2009.[14]

On 17 April 2010, the band released The Remixes, an EP containing remixes of songs from To Lose My Life.... The five-track EP was limited to 500 copies and released as part of Record Store Day 2009.[15]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic58/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Clash(positive)[18]
Drowned in Sound(7/10)[19]
The Fly[20]
The Guardian[21]
The Independent(favourable)[22]
NME(8/10)[23]
Pitchfork(4.0/10)[24]
Spin[25]
The Sunday Times[26]
Yahoo! Music[27]

Critical

Initial critical response for To Lose My Life... was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 58, based on 17 reviews.[28]

Chart performance

To Lose My Life... debuted at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, making White Lies the first British act in 2009 to achieve a No. 1 album.[29] It was the first 2009 album to debut at No. 1.[30] Worldwide, the album charted in 11 countries, including six top 40 positions in Europe.[31]

Track listing

All music is composed by White Lies

No.TitleLength
1."Death"5:01
2."To Lose My Life"3:11
3."A Place to Hide"5:01
4."Fifty on Our Foreheads"4:21
5."Unfinished Business"4:18
6."E.S.T."5:01
7."From the Stars"4:52
8."Farewell to the Fairground"4:16
9."Nothing to Give"4:11
10."The Price of Love"4:38
iTunes Store bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."You Still Love Him" ("Unfinished Business" B-side)3:22
12."Black Song" ("Death" B-side)3:47
13."Taxidermy" ("To Lose My Life" B-side)3:17
Limited 6 x 7" edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing to Give (Demo Version)"4:12
2."The Price of Love (Demo Version)"3:44
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Death (Crystal Castles Remix)"4:47
12."Farewell to the Fairground (Yuksek Remix)"4:21
13."To Lose My Life (Filthy Dukes Remix)"5:42

All music is composed by White Lies

To Lose My Life (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) CD2
No.TitleLength
1."Taxidermy (B-Side)"3:16
2."You Still Love Him (Demo)"3:21
3."Black Song (B-Side)"3:50
4."Farewell to the Fairground (Demo)"4:33
5."Unfinished Business (Chess Club Single Version)"4:10
6."From the Stars (Demo)"4:43
7."To Lose My Life (Live)"3:11
8."E.S.T. (Live)"4:28
9."A Place To Hide (Live)"5:01
10."Death (Crystal Castles Remix)"4:59
11."Nothing To Give (M83 Remix)"6:22

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] Gold 15,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[45] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Gold 229,575[46]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "White Lies - To Lose My Life". Clash. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Gregory, Jason (2009-01-05). "White Lies - 'To Lose My Life' (Fiction) Released: 19/01/09". Gigwise.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-06. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  3. ^ Simpson, Matt (30 December 2008). "A.M. Nuggets: Free Download on iTunes - From the Stars by White Lies". wnew.com. Retrieved 31 December 2008.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Horowitz, Steven (2009-03-10). "White Lies Exclusive Interview". kiwibox.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  5. ^ "White Lies announce album details - exclusive". NME. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  6. ^ "White Lies - Artists - Biography". Polydor Records. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  7. ^ Crowther, Sophie Ann (2009-11-04). "Interview with White Lies". State. Archived from the original on 2009-11-09. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  8. ^ "White Lies 'proud' of debut album". BBC News. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  9. ^ Gregory, Jason (2009-01-14). "The Truth Is Out - White Lies". Gigwise.com. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
  10. ^ Doherty, Niall (January 2009). "The Great Depression". The Fly. pp. 21–24. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  11. ^ "White Lies preview debut album at Manchester show". NME. Retrieved January 27, 2008.
  12. ^ "White Lies - To Lose My Life". pushentertainment.com. Retrieved 2009-03-25.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Best Art Vinyl 2009 : The Winners". artvinyl.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  14. ^ "Art Vinyl - Coming Events". artvinyl.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  15. ^ Pledger, Paul (2010-04-21). "The Remixes - White Lies EP Review". allgigs.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  16. ^ "To Lose My Life... - White Lies". AllMusic. 2009-01-12. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  17. ^ "Reviews for To Lose My Life". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  18. ^ Diver, Mike (2008-12-18). "White Lies - To Lose My Life". Clash. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  19. ^ Dourlay, Dom (2009-01-27). "White Lies - To Lose My Life". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  20. ^ Thomsett, Sophie (2009-01-09). "Album Review: White Lies / 'To Lose My Life' (Fiction)". The Fly. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  21. ^ Rogers, Jude (2009-01-16). "White Lies: To Lose My Life". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  22. ^ Price, Simon (2009-01-11). "Album: White Lies, To Lose My Life, (Fiction)". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  23. ^ Beaumont, Mark (2009-01-16). "White Lies". NME. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  24. ^ Hogan, Marc (2009-03-16). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: White Lies: To Lose My Life..." Pitchfork. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  25. ^ Walters, Barry (2009-02-28). "White Lies, 'To Lose My Life...' (Fiction/Geffen)". Spin. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  26. ^ Edwards, Mark (2009-01-18). "White Lies: To Lose My Life review". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  27. ^ Kharas, Kev (2009-01-12). "White Lies To Lose My Life Album Review". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  28. ^ "White Lies:To Lose My Life... (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
  29. ^ Murray, Robin (2009-06-08). "White Lies Reveal Massive UK Tour". Live. Clash. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  30. ^ Richardson, Jay (2009-05-06). "Gig review: White Lies". Gig Reviews. The Scotsman. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  31. ^ a b "White Lies - To Lose My Life - Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  32. ^ "Austria Albums Top 75". αCharts.us. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  33. ^ "Belgium Albums Top 50". αCharts.us. 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  34. ^ "Denmark Albums Top 40". αCharts.us. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  35. ^ "Dutch Albums Top 100". αCharts.us. 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  36. ^ a b "White Lies Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  37. ^ "France Albums Top 150". αCharts.us. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  38. ^ "Irish Albums Top 75". αCharts.us. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  39. ^ "NZ Albums Top 40". αCharts.us. 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  40. ^ "Norway Albums Top 40". αCharts.us. 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  41. ^ "Swiss Albums Top 100". αCharts.us. 2009-03-08. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  42. ^ "White Lies' debut album goes straight to Number One in the charts". NME. 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  43. ^ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. 2009-04-04. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  44. ^ "Danish album certifications – White Lies – To Lose my Life". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 14 April 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2011 to obtain certification.
  45. ^ "The Irish Charts - 2009 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  46. ^ Hanley, James (22 March 2019). "White Lies announce 10th anniversary Brixton show". Music Week. p. 3. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  47. ^ "British album certifications – White Lies – To Lose my Life". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type To Lose my Life in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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