White Lies return with new single "Take It Out On Me"

Friends is the follow up to 2013's Big TV and is the band's first release through new home BMG.

“In the past couple of years, we’ve noticed friends’ life situations causing them to make big decisions – marriages, kids, moving out of London,” says Charles Cave (bass, lyrics) of the album's themes. “Friendships have begun to feel adult and our perception of time has changed. As kids, if you didn’t see a mate for a fortnight, you’d wonder what was wrong. Now you might not see someone for six months and it doesn’t matter.”

Speaking about the new single "Take It Out On Me", Cave adds: “Right up until we recorded the song it was called 89-1-3. It was inspired by a lunatic on Instagram who kept commenting on a friend’s photos in pseudo Biblical verse. From his profile I discovered he lived in a remote cabin with a rough-looking dog. He posted weird videos in which he quoted random numbers. As a challenge, I turned them in to a song. The only problem was that it went so well everyone said it should be the first single, so I relented and gave the chorus real lyrics.”

Friends is out via all the usual formats (plus deluxe via cassette with bonus songs) on 7 October. It's self-produced, with engineering from James Brown (Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys), mixing by David Wrench (Caribou, FKA twigs), plus Ed Buller on additional production.

White Lies have also confirmed a mammoth European tour, with UK dates beginning towards the end of November. Find out more on the White Lies website.

Listen to "Take It Out On Me" below.