Big TV (stylised as BIG TV) is the third studio album by the British indie rock band White Lies. 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) and Canada (Universal Music Canada).
The album was produced by Ed Buller at ICP Studios in Brussels, Belgium
On 18 August 2013, the album debuted at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.
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.
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.
The cover artwork for the album is a painting, "Pilot 2", by New York City-based artist Michael Kagan.
Promotion The track "Getting Even" was released on 4 June 2013 as a free download on White Lies' SoundCloud page. The song charted on Polish radio station Eska Rock, peaking at No. 1.
"There Goes Our Love Again", the first official single from the album, was released on 5 August 2013. The song was played on the air for the first time on 18 June 2013, exclusively on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show.
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. They played tracks from Big TV and some of their earlier songs in front of 300 fans each night. In August 2013, they made their Main Stage debut at Reading and Leeds Festivals. During their summer/fall 2013 tour, the band played more than 30 concerts in Europe and North America.
On 29 July 2013, the band made the song "Change" available to stream on their official SoundCloud page.
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.
Critical reception
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.
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". 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". 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".
Track listing
2024 deluxe edition On 14 June 2024, a 2-disc deluxe edition was released with bonus live performances, demos and tracks from the Small TV EP.
Personnel White Lies Harry McVeigh – lead vocals, guitar Charles Cave – bass guitar, backing vocals, lyrics Jack Lawrence-Brown – drums
Production Ed Buller – production Mark 'Spike' Stent – mixing
Accolades Publication Country Work Accolade Year Rank Pitchfork US cover art The Top 25 Album Covers of 2013 2013 —
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart performance for Big TV Charts (2013) PeakpositionAustralia (ARIA Hitseekers)3 Italian Albums (FIMI) 64 + Chart performance for Big TV (2024 deluxe edition) Charts (2024) Peakposition Scottish Albums Chart (Official Charts) 31 UK Albums Sales (Official Charts) 31
Year-end charts Charts (2013) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 188
Release history Region Date Format Label United Kingdom, Europe 12 August 2013 CD, LP, digital download Fiction Records United States20 August 2013 Harvest Records Canada Universal Music Canada
References